Devil’s Advocate: How will Russell, Qais & Stoinis impact the Stars premos’ scoring?
This is our first in-season Devil’s Article article and I can assure you, last round was rough. A lot of us fell for the trap of Jack Wildermuth, who let us all down with a measly four points.
Then there was Dan Hughes who, ruined so many teams with his three points from two games.
Anyway, to the point of this article, we’ve just seen one of the biggest signings this season in Andre Russell ($178k BAT/BWL) joining the Melbourne Stars.
Qais Ahmad ($125k BWL) has also arrived for the Stars and both him and Russell will play Round 2 which has big implications for cheapies like Syed Faridoun ($59k BWL), Sam Elliott ($42k BWL) and Brody Couch ($50k BWL) who might be squeezed out.
The Stars now have even more SuperCoach relevance, particularly with a Round 3 double brewing. But what role will each of the fantastic four – Glenn Maxwell ($183k BAT/BWL), Marcus Stoinis ($163k BAT/BWL), Adam Zampa ($157k BWL) and Russell – play and how much will they clash??
Well, let’s start with Stoinis. For so long he’s been tipped to have the highest ceiling in SuperCoach BBL.
Back in 2018-19, Stoinis would open the batting and bowl four overs, making him an absolute stud. Since then, Stoinis has battled injury ever since and hasn’t bowled regularly in the BBL for a long time. This season, he was looking set to return to his ceiling. But with a side injury coming out of nowhere and the presence of Andre Russell, Stoinis may be left to become a batter only.
Verdict: Negatively affected
Now, we move to Glenn Maxwell, who bowled two overs last game for figures of 1-17. Not bad by any stretch. Those extra 12 balls, along with batting at 4 means that Maxi has a pretty good ceiling for SuperCoach and he is often amongst the leading run scorers. He also fields in dangerous spots. The only concern is the bowling. With Qais showing up, the Stars now have two high quality leggies, although the Afghan simply slots in for Syed Faridoun. As such, Maxi won’t bowl four overs but more likely two overs like game one.
Verdict: Unaffected
Now we move to the new signing, Andre Russell. Russell is an elite T20 cricketer with an elite record. Dre Russ should slot straight into this Stars’ line-up at 5-7 and will bowl three-four overs regularly. Only expect Russell to bat at 7 if there is a collapse, otherwise he’ll bat for the last five-six overs of an innings and do immediate damage.
The last time Russell played in the BBL, he averaged just over 100 points per game. Russell may not be the player he was back then, but if he’s even 70-80% of the player he once was, then he’s a SuperCoach stud. He also just dominated the Abu Dhabi T10 League Final with a match-winning 90* from 32 balls and a wicket.
Verdict: Worth the risk for Round 2
Finally, we’ll discuss Adam Zampa. He’s one of the best bowlers in the world, but with the addition of Qais, he may have less opportunity to bowl those crunch time overs. Last game, Zampa was ineffective, only scoring 17 points, so that’s a worry for Zampa.
However, in the absence of senior bowlers, he was forced to bowl in the Power Surge against the Sixers, so the return of the likes of Nathan Coulter-Nile ($189k BWL) to the attack, may aid him as well. He is in ripping form from the T20 World Cup so expect him to bounce back from a slow start but Qais’ presence should be monitored.
Verdict: Negatively affected
There’s our thoughts on what could potentially unfold at the stars. We think that Russell may just come straight in and demand a role that’ll be SuperCoach friendly. Of course, this will negatively affect Stoinis and so as such, we’d watch the situation carefully. With high breakevens for Maxwell and Zampa, it’s a tough call if you want to move for a Stars player a round prior to their double too.
