The Melbourne Stars have a few premium bargains in SuperCoach BBL and they’ve also got a Round 1 double, shooting them into relevance, but beware their Round 2 bye.

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Ins/Outs

Ins: Sam Harper (Melbourne Renegades), Joel Paris (Hobart Hurricanes), Scott Boland (Hobart Hurricanes), Mark Steketee (Brisbane Heat), Haris Rauf (Pak), Usama Mir (Pak), Liam Dawson (Hampshire)

Outs: Liam Hatcher (Sydney Thunder), Adam Zampa (Melbourne Renegades), Joe Clarke (Melbourne Renegades), Trent Boult, Luke Wood

Withdrawn: Harry Brook

Squad (17): Joe Burns, Hilton Cartwright, Brody Couch, Nick Larkin, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Beau Webster, Sam Harper, Joel Paris, Scott Boland, Mark Steketee, Haris Rauf, Usama Mir, Tom Rogers, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Campbell Kellaway, Liam Dawson

Uncontracted from BBL|12: Clint Hinchliffe, Tom O’Connell, Sam Elliott, Cam McClure

Harry Brook withdrew and has been replaced by English spinner/all-rounder Liam Dawson for the first three BBL games, while there’s another local spot available to fill out their 18.

View our list of the top 5 speculative picks in SC BBL|13

View our list of the top 10 value picks in SC BBL|13

Availability Issues

The Stars had expected Haris Rauf to be available for BBL|13 despite Pakistan wanting him to play in their Test series against Australia. In a strange scenario, the fast bowler cited workload issues, but the PCB have since delayed his No-Objection Clearance needed to play in the BBL, due to the ongoing Pakistan T20 Cup which runs until December 10, meaning he seems set to miss their first game of the Round 1 double.

Recruit Usama Mir was called into a Pakistan training camp in his homeland prior to the Australia Tests but he’s not in their official touring squad and has withdrawn from the Abu Dhabi T10 League, so will be freed up for BBL|13 too, assuming no funny business from the PCB.

Mark Steketee and Beau Webster will both miss the first game of the Stars’ Round 1 double due to Prime Minister’s XI selection. Scott Boland is in the mix for Australia’s Test squad, even as a back-up, which would likely rule him out all summer, but he could sneak in their first game on December 7, before the Aussie camp gathers in Perth on December 9. Steketee could easily replace him for the second game of Round 1.

Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis have had a busy two months at the World Cup and both played in Tuesday’s T20I win over India but will fly back to Australia on Wednesday and both should be available for both games in Round 1.

There’s currently no known injuries for the Stars, despite a recent groin scare for Joel Paris who is playing in the Sheffield Shield this week, while Nathan Coulter-Nile hasn’t been sighted yet at club level in his native WA.

View our comprehensive BBL Availability Calendar

Predicted Round 1 XI Rationale

The Stars have a new coach with Peter Moores taking over from Dave Hussey, so that may lead to a shake-up, but the club’s GM Blair Crouch indicated after the BBL Draft that Tom Rogers and new recruit Sam Harper was their preferred opening pair followed by Brook, who has since pulled out. Crouch said in September: “Tommy Rogers and Sam Harper as a new opening combo can be really aggressive knowing you’ve got Maxwell, Stoinis, Brook, (Hilton) Cartwright and (Beau) Webster to come down the order.”

With Brook gone, Maxwell (who is only $118k) and Webster probably benefit by shuffling up the order with Stoinis (who is also cheap) likely to maintain the number 5 role from international level and in the IPL. The Stars have groomed Hilton Cartwright for a late-overs big-hitting role too. Webster, though, will miss game 1, creating another shuffle, with Nick Larkin – who played every game last season – likely getting a chance in his absence.

Dawson’s signing adds a bit of all-round steel to their batting line-up while Joel Paris, Usama Mir and Coulter-Nile are all capable with the bat.

The Stars’ second game in their Round 1 double is six days after the first, on December 13, so it’s quite foreseeable for game 2 that Boland and Larkin go out for Steketee and Webster after PM’s XI duty. If Haris Rauf is cleared to play by the PCB, he could replace injury-prone duo Coulter-Nile or Paris.

Predicted Round 1 XI

1 T.Rogers
2 S.Harper (wk)
3 G.Maxwell (c)
4 N.Larkin
5 M.Stoinis
6 H.Cartwright
7 L.Dawson
8 J.Paris
9 Usama Mir
10 N.Coulter-Nile
11 S.Boland

View our predicted Round 1 line-up for the Melbourne Renegades

View our predicted Round 1 line-up for the Sydney Thunder

View our predicted Round 1 line-up for the Hobart Hurricanes

View our predicted Round 1 line-up for the Brisbane Heat

View our predicted Round 1 line-up for the Sydney Sixers

View our predicted Round 1 line-up for the Adelaide Strikers

View our predicted Round 1 line-up for the Perth Scorchers

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