'Devastated' Stars sweat on Curran scans after winless start

A "devastated" Melbourne Stars outfit are sweating in the fitness of English import Tom Curran as they lick their wounds following a fifth straight defeat to start KFC BBL|14.

Curran, signed by the Stars on a two-year deal prior to this year's overseas player draft, missed Saturday night's 18-run loss to Sydney Thunder in Canberra with a calf complaint suffered at training the previous evening.

The 29-year-old allrounder is due to have a scan on Monday to determine the extent of the injury.

The loss of Curran for an extended period – who is often tasked with bowling the tough Power Surge and death overs – would be a huge blow for the Stars in their efforts to keep their slim BBL|14 finals hopes alive.

It doesn't get any easier for the Stars either as they travel to Brisbane to face the reigning champions on New Year's Day.

Melbourne Stars high performance manager Clint McKay said both the players and coaching staff were "hurting" following their winless start to the season.

"It's devastating," said McKay after the loss to the Thunder. "Everyone's hurting at the moment – 0-5 is definitely not where we want to be.

"We're showing some good signs but we're just not putting full games of cricket together.

"Once again, their big players are standing up at crucial times – we saw James Vince (score 101no) the other night for the Sixers and Sam Billings with 72, it's their big players that are standing up and hurting us."

The Stars meanwhile have had just one batter hit a half-century so far this season with top overseas draft pick Ben Duckett having hit 68 and 67 respectively in their past two matches.

Most Runs

BBL|14 BKT Golden Bat

Player	Total
1 Cooper Connolly C Connolly	229
2 James Vince J Vince	175
3 Josh Philippe J Philippe	154
4 Mitchell Owen M Owen	152
5 Ashton Turner A Turner	141
6 Ben Duckett B Duckett	135
7 Moises Henriques M Henriques	132
8 Marcus Stoinis M Stoinis	132

Full Table

As a collective they have the lowest batting average (19.90) of the eight teams in BBL|14, which dips even lower in the Powerplay (18.00) with only two fielders out.

The Stars have also lost (6) double the number of wickets their bowlers have taken (3) in the Powerplay this season and their death overs (16-20) team batting average is 10.33 – more than five runs fewer than the next worst (Brisbane Heat – 15.38).

"It seems to be the story of our season so far – we're getting great starts," McKay said.

"Marcus Stoinis (22 off 17 balls against the Thunder) once again got another great start but unfortunately he can't kick on and Ben Duckett again was excellent but got out at a crucial time when we've sort of got the game in control.

"It always makes it difficult."

The Stars also have the highest bowling strike rate (25.5) this season, requiring on average almost six more balls to take a wicket than the team ranked third worst – the Hobart Hurricanes (19.6) who are ahead of Brisbane Heat (24.1).

While their strike rate during the death overs is also the highest (18.5) as well as their middle overs (5-15) economy rate (8.53), which means they're struggling to stem the runs towards the end of an innings, McKay was pleased by an improved bowling effort against the Thunder.

"We executed a lot of skills that we were actually trying to achieve that we spoke about after the Sixers game," he said.

"It was pleasing that it was an improved performance but at the end of the day if we cut that back by 10 runs and chase 173 (instead of 183), it's probably a different result.

"The boys are working as hard as ever, and they're devastated at the moment.

"We've got a few days off to regroup and recalibrate and work out how we're going to improve on this season.

"It's not acceptable and we know that, and we'll come to Brisbane ready to get our first win on the board."

The Stars aren't only side with injury concerns in recent days with Perth Scorchers unlikely to see Josh Inglis for a while after he suffered a calf strain while sub-fielding on day two of the Boxing Day Test.

Inglis will be missing from the squad for the fifth Test but is anticipated to be available for Australia's tour of Sri Lanka in late January, with his BBL availability prior to that yet to be determined.

Thunder leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha is also set for a stint on the sidelines after missing the win over the Stars with a minor side strain. He has been replaced in the Thunder's 14-player squad for Monday's clash with the Renegades by Australia Under-19 World Cup-winning captain Hugh Weibgen.

And Jason Sangha is set to undergo a fitness test prior to that match after leaving the field five balls into his first over against the Stars with a bicep complaint.

Sydney Sixers were also without Jack Edwards for their win over the Heat on Sunday night after the allrounder suffered a groin injury in their previous match against the Stars on Boxing Day.

KFC BBL|14 standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Total points PTS
1 Sydney Sixers Men SIX	5	4	1	0	0	0.228	0	8
2 Perth Scorchers Men SCO	5	3	2	0	0	0.958	0	6
3 Sydney Thunder Men THU	4	3	1	0	0	0.361	0	6
4 Hobart Hurricanes Men HUR	4	3	1	0	0	-0.301	0	6
5 Melbourne Renegades Men REN	4	2	2	0	0	0.984	0	4
6 Brisbane Heat Men HEA	4	2	2	0	0	-0.664	0	4
7 Adelaide Strikers Men STR	5	1	4	0	0	-0.558	0	2
8 Melbourne Stars Men STA	5	0	5	0	0	-1.016	0	0

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

PTS: Total points