Devil’s Advocate: How do the Stars function without Maxy, Beau & Usama Mir?

Devil’s Advocate is back for another season of Big Bash League, and this pre-season has comfortably been the most eventful of recent memory.

We’ve had the Scorchers’ 3 best spin options go down with injury, a host of players missing Round 1 due to other global commitments. We’ve also seen the emergence of guys like Nathan McSweeney, Josh Inglis, Beau Webster and Sean Abbott to the Test squad. 

No one has been more impacted across their squad than the Melbourne Stars. Not only have they lost Usama Mir to international duties, they also appear unlikely to have Glenn Maxwell early on due to a hamstring injury.

As mentioned before, Beau Webster is with the Test squad for now, and with Mitch Marsh rumoured to be playing as a batter only, there is every chance that Webster is asked to stay with the squad as cover for the third Test.

So to kick us off for BBL|14, our first Devil’s Advocate is: how do the Stars function without Glenn Maxwell, Usama Mir and Beau Webster

In the event all 3 of them miss Round 1, their side would look something like this: 

1. Rogers
2. Clarke
3. Kellaway
4. Stoinis (c)
5. Cartwright
6. Curran
7. Harper (wk)
8. Paris
9. Steketee
10. McKenzie
11. Siddle

First of all, this is the worst case scenario for the Stars. I’d expect Webster to feature Round 1 and get a key role without Maxwell there. So I’d then have their lineup looking kind of like this: 

1. Rogers
2. Clarke (wk)
3. Webster
4. Stoinis (c)
5. Cartwright
6. Kellaway
7. Curran
8. Paris
9. Steketee
10. McKenzie
11. Siddle

At the top of the order we have Tom Rogers who is a sneaky option as he will be opening the batting at just $87k. He’s got a reasonable ceiling being an opening bat, so could be worth pursuing considering you have the safety of the flex spot. 

If we find out that Webster is out due to playing for Australia, Campbell Kellaway likely bats at 3. If Kellaway plays, he’s a risky option due to the short-term job security, but could be worth a punt. For now, let’s say that Webster is released from the Test squad, and bats at 3. He would become a premium C option as he immediately inherits Maxwell’s role as the key batter, and would bowl 4 overs in the middle, often picking up a wicket or 2.

Webster had a bowling strike rate of 18.8 in BBL|13, so with an increased bowling role, expect him to improve on his 6 wickets last year. 

Marcus Stoinis is the most-owned player in the game, and for good reason. He’s an explosive middle-order batsman who may have no choice but to bowl this year. If he is bowling, I expect him to double his season average considering he likely bowls with the new ball and in the last 5 overs too. 

Hilton Cartwright may have an important role without Maxwell there, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a SuperCoach friendly one, as has often been the case against Cartwright.

Tom Curran, at a new club, as the leader of their attack, is one of the most popular players in SuperCoach. He will be their new death bowler which, at the MCG, is superb news. Throughout 5 games of BBL|13 played at the MCG, 39 wickets were taken in the first innings, which equates to an average of 8 wickets in the first innings of a game at the MCG. For Tom Curran, that’s gold as he almost certainly bowls 2 of the last 5 overs. 

Sam Harper becomes relevant if Joe Clarke goes down with an injury in the next 2 weeks, otherwise he’s an avoid. I’m not even convinced he gets a game given Clarke can take the gloves.

For the last 2 years, we’ve hoped that Joel Paris can find form and get himself amongst the wickets, but the truth is, he’s not that great of a T20 bowler, and that’s why in my eyes, he’ll be the backup for Peter Siddle. In the event Webster doesn’t play, an extra bowling option would be required and that’s where Paris would get a game potentially.

Mark Steketee, a SuperCoach Gun of BBL past. Looked well and truly washed last year, averaging less than 10ppg on the year. Now the question is, can he return to his old self? I’m skeptical of him even getting an opportunity to display his biggest strength — death bowling, especially with the signing of Siddle. 

Ok, here’s the one I’m super keen on. Hamish McKenzie, who only bowled 4 overs in 2 of his games last year. In those games, he managed scores of 77 and 11, which equates to a 44 average. McKenzie is priced at a 23.5 avg, and with 3 wickets a game falling to spin at Optus Stadium, and 5 wickets a game at the MCG, making this an incredible opportunity for McKenzie to make bulk cash early on. 

Finally, the veteran Peter Siddle is going around again, and we expect his price to be between $70-90k, which I’ll be happy to pay for. When you factor in the stats about death bowling at the MCG, and the fact that Melbourne play 5 games in 3 rounds, I don’t think there’s many better cheapies out there. The only danger with Siddle, is to know whether or not he’s washed and hasn’t got it in him to perform in T20s anymore. He’s got big rotation vibes too.

Overall, there are plenty of relevant parts in this Stars side, but the big all-rounders of Curran, Stoinis and Webster are the key cogs. The cheaper guys like McKenzie and Siddle will have their games, but for rock-solid scoring, I’ll be looking the way of Curran, Webster and maybe even Stoinis without Maxi there. Catch you next time for another Devil’s Advocate.