# 2018–19 Melbourne Stars season

The 2018–19 Melbourne Stars season is the eighth in the club's history. Coached by Stephen Fleming and captained by Glenn Maxwell, they competed in the BBL's 2018–19 season.

## Season
### Ladder

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
| 1 | Hobart Hurricanes | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 0.603 | Advance to play-off phase |
| 2 | Melbourne Renegades (C) | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 0.173 | Advance to play-off phase |
| 3 | Sydney Sixers | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 0.047 | Advance to play-off phase |
| 4 | Melbourne Stars | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | −0.062 | Advance to play-off phase |
| 5 | Brisbane Heat | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 13 | 0.249 | |
| 6 | Sydney Thunder | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 13 | 0.000 | |
| 7 | Adelaide Strikers | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 12 | −0.473 | |
| 8 | Perth Scorchers | 14 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 8 | −0.502 | |

### Regular season

* 21 December 2018 19:15 (D/N) Scorecard
| (H) Sydney Thunder 5/181 (20 overs) | v | Melbourne Stars 6/74 (8 overs) |
| Jason Sangha 63* (36) Adam Zampa 2/23 (4 overs) | | Nick Larkin 28* (13) Daniel Sams 3/5 (2 overs) |
* Sydney Thunder won by 15 runs (D/L method) Manuka Oval, Canberra Attendance: 8,788 Umpires: Simon Lightbody and Tony Wilds Player of the match: Daniel Sams (Sydney Thunder)
* Melbourne Stars won the toss and elected to field.
* Melbourne Stars were set a target of 90 runs from 8 overs due to rain.
* Travis Dean (Melbourne Stars) made his T20 debut.
* 24 December 2018 15:45 Scorecard
| Melbourne Stars 5/155 (20 overs) | v | Hobart Hurricanes (H) 4/156 (18.4 overs) |
| Glenn Maxwell 47 (31) Jofra Archer 3/25 (4 overs) | | Matthew Wade 52 (37) Sandeep Lamichhane 3/24 (4 overs) |
* Hobart Hurricanes won by 6 wickets Blundstone Arena, Hobart Attendance: 9,132 Umpires: Shawn Craig and Sam Nogajski Player of the match: D'Arcy Short (Hobart Hurricanes)
* Hobart Hurricanes won the toss and elected to field.
* 27 December 2018 19:15 (D/N) Scorecard
| (H) Sydney Sixers 9/130 (20 overs) | v | Melbourne Stars 5/132 (14.5 overs) |
| Jordan Silk 41* (37) Jackson Coleman 3/18 (3 overs) | | Peter Handscomb 70 (35) Ben Dwarshuis 3/26 (3.5 overs) |
* Melbourne Stars won by 5 wickets Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Attendance: 22,221 Umpires: Shawn Craig and Simon Lightbody Player of the match: Peter Handscomb (Melbourne Stars)
* Melbourne Stars won the toss and elected to field.
* 1 January 2019 19:15 (D/N) Scorecard
| Melbourne Renegades 9/148 (20 overs) | v | Melbourne Stars (H) 3/151 (17.5 overs) |
| Daniel Christian 32 (28) Dwayne Bravo 3/27 (4 overs) | | Marcus Stoinis 78* (49) Cameron Boyce 2/23 (4 overs) |
* Melbourne Stars won by 7 wickets Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Attendance: 46,418 Umpires: Shawn Craig and John Ward Player of the match: Marcus Stoinis (Melbourne Stars)
* Melbourne Stars won the toss and elected to field.
* Jonathan Merlo (Melbourne Stars) made his T20 debut.
* 5 January 2019 17:15 (D/N) Scorecard
| Sydney Thunder 8/135 (20 overs) | v | Melbourne Stars (H) 2/137 (17.2 overs) |
| Daniel Sams 42 (25) Scott Boland 2/28 (4 overs) | | Glenn Maxwell 41* (31) Fawad Ahmed 1/26 (4 overs) |
* Melbourne Stars won by 8 wickets Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast Attendance: 8,156 Umpires: Greg Davidson and Geoff Joshua Player of the match: Marcus Stoinis (Melbourne Stars)
* Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to bat.
* 9 January 2019 19:15 (D/N) Scorecard
| (H) Melbourne Stars 6/146 (20 overs) | v | Perth Scorchers 4/147 (17.4 overs) |
| Ben Dunk 62 (47) Andrew Tye 4/18 (4 overs) | | Cameron Bancroft 59 (42) Dwayne Bravo 2/18 (3 overs) |
* Perth Scorchers won by 6 wickets Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Attendance: 25,342 Umpires: Simon Fry and Sam Nogajski Player of the match: Andrew Tye (Perth Scorchers)
* Perth Scorchers won the toss and elected to field.
* Aaron Hardie (Perth Scorchers) made his T20 debut.
* 11 January 2019 18:30 (D/N) Scorecard
| (H) Adelaide Strikers 5/178 (20 overs) | v | Melbourne Stars 137 (19.2 overs) |
| Colin Ingram 57 (41) Liam Plunkett 4/36 (4 overs) | | Evan Gulbis 37 (25) Ben Laughlin 3/19 (3.2 overs) |
* Adelaide Strikers won by 41 runs Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Attendance: 30,392 Umpires: John Ward and Tony Wilds Player of the match: Colin Ingram (Adelaide Strikers)
* Melbourne Stars won the toss and elected to field.
* 14 January 2019 19:15 (D/N) Scorecard
| Hobart Hurricanes 2/185 (20 overs) | v | Melbourne Stars (H) 126 (17.1 overs) |
| D'Arcy Short 96* (57) Tom O'Connell 1/17 (2 overs) | | Seb Gotch 35 (26) Riley Meredith 4/21 (4 overs) |
* Hobart Hurricanes won by 59 runs Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Attendance: 20,188 Umpires: Michael Graham-Smith and John Ward Player of the match: D'Arcy Short (Hobart Hurricanes)
* Melbourne Stars won the toss and elected to field.
* Tom O'Connell (Melbourne Stars) made his T20 debut.
* 19 January 2019 18:45 (D/N) Scorecard
| (H) Melbourne Renegades 121 (19.3 overs) | v | Melbourne Stars 4/124 (19.2 overs) |
| Mohammad Nabi 28 (33) Marcus Stoinis 3/19 (4 overs) | | Marcus Stoinis 70* (65) Kane Richardson 2/17 (4 overs) |
* Melbourne Stars won by 6 wickets Marvel Stadium, Melbourne Attendance: 38,117 Umpires: Phillip Gillespie and Geoff Joshua Player of the match: Marcus Stoinis (Melbourne Stars)
* Melbourne Stars won the toss and elected to field.
* 23 January 2019 14:45 Scorecard
| (H) Melbourne Stars 2/167 (20 overs) | v | Adelaide Strikers 123 (19.4 overs) |
| Ben Dunk 72* (53) Rashid Khan 1/32 (4 overs) | | Jake Lehmann 40 (32) Marcus Stoinis 3/20 (4 overs) |
* Melbourne Stars won by 44 runs Ted Summerton Reserve, Moe Attendance: 6,093 Umpires: Phillip Gillespie and Michael Graham-Smith Player of the match: Ben Dunk (Melbourne Stars)
* Adelaide Strikers won the toss and elected to field.
* 27 January 2019 19:40 (D/N) Scorecard
| (H) Melbourne Stars 134/8 (20 overs) | v | Brisbane Heat 129/8 (20 overs) |
| Marcus Stoinis 43 (29) Ben Cutting 2/10 (2 overs) | | Matt Renshaw 45 (43) Marcus Stoinis 4/21 (4 overs) |
* Melbourne Stars won by 5 runs Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Attendance: 22,231 Umpires: Simon Fry and Geoff Joshua Player of the match: Marcus Stoinis (Melbourne Stars)
* Brisbane Heat won the toss and elected to field.
* 3 February 2019 18:15 (D/N) Scorecard
| (H) Perth Scorchers 3/182 (20 overs) | v | Melbourne Stars 9/155 (20 overs) |
| Ashton Turner 69 (42) Liam Plunkett 1/23 (3 overs) | | Glenn Maxwell 61 (40) Nathan Coulter-Nile 3/30 (4 overs) |
* Perth Scorchers won by 27 runs Optus Stadium, Perth Attendance: 16,660 Umpires: Gerard Abood and Nathan Johnstone Player of the match: Ashton Turner (Perth Scorchers)
* Melbourne Stars won the toss and elected to field.
* Michael Klinger (Perth Scorchers) regained his record of the leading run-scorer in the Big Bash League with 1,947 runs. Chris Lynn of the Brisbane Heat had over taken Klinger two nights prior.
* 8 February 2019 19:40 (D/N) Scorecard
| Melbourne Stars 8/156 (20 overs) | v | Brisbane Heat (H) 0/158 (10 overs) |
| Marcus Stoinis 81 (51) Josh Lalor 3/43 (4 overs) | | Ben Cutting 81* (30) |
* Brisbane Heat won by 10 wickets The Gabba, Brisbane Attendance: 21,391 Umpires: Greg Davidson and Tony Wilds Player of the match: Ben Cutting (Brisbane Heat)
* Brisbane Heat won the toss and elected to field.
* 10 February 2019 14:45 Scorecard
| (H) Melbourne Stars 6/168 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Sixers 74 (13.4 overs) |
| Glenn Maxwell 82 (43) Tom Curran 2/39 (4 overs) | | Daniel Hughes 12 (9) Sandeep Lamichhane 3/11 (3.4 overs) |
* Melbourne Stars won by 94 runs Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Attendance: 22,359 Umpires: Gerard Abood and Sam Nogajski Player of the match: Glenn Maxwell (Melbourne Stars)
* Sydney Sixers won the toss and elected to field.

### Knockout stages
#### Semi-finals

* 14 February 2019 19:40 (D/N) Scorecard
| (H) Hobart Hurricanes 7/153 (20 overs) | v | Melbourne Stars 4/157 (18.5 overs) |
| Ben McDermott 53 (42) Daniel Worrall 4/23 (4 overs) | | Glenn Maxwell 43* (33) Qais Ahmad 3/33 (4 overs) |
* Melbourne Stars won by 6 wickets Blundstone Arena, Hobart Attendance: 12,404 Umpires: Shawn Craig and Sam Nogajski Player of the match: Daniel Worrall (Melbourne Stars)
* Melbourne Stars won the toss and elected to field.

#### Final

* 17 February 2019 14:45 Scorecard
| (H) Melbourne Renegades 5/145 (20 overs) | v | Melbourne Stars 7/132 (20 overs) |
| Tom Cooper 43* (35) Adam Zampa 2/21 (4 overs) | | Ben Dunk 57 (45) Chris Tremain 2/21 (4 overs) |
* Melbourne Renegades won by 13 runs Marvel Stadium, Melbourne Attendance: 40,816 Umpires: Gerard Abood and Sam Nogajski Player of the match: Dan Christian (Melbourne Renegades)
* Melbourne Stars won the toss and elected to field.

## Players
### Squad

The following is the Stars men's squad for the 2018–19 Big Bash League season as of 23 January 2019.
| S/N | Name | Date of birth | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
| Batsmen |||||||
| 28 | Travis Dean | (1992-02-01) 1 February 1992 (age 32) | Right-handed | — | |
| 36 | Nick Larkin | (1990-05-01) 1 May 1990 (age 34) | Right-handed | — | |
| 53 | Nic Maddinson | (1991-12-21) 21 December 1991 (age 32) | Right-handed | Slow left arm | Vice-Captain, International Cap |
| All Rounders |||||||
| 4 | Evan Gulbis | (1986-03-26) 26 March 1986 (age 38) | Right-handed | Right arm fast medium | |
| 12 | Jonathan Merlo | (1998-12-15) 15 December 1998 (age 25) | Right-handed | Right arm fast medium | |
| 16 | Marcus Stoinis | (1989-08-16) 16 August 1989 (age 35) | Right-handed | Right arm medium | International Cap |
| 32 | Glenn Maxwell | (1988-10-14) 14 October 1988 (age 35) | Right-handed | Right arm off spin | Captain, International Cap |
| 47 | Dwayne Bravo | (1983-10-07) 7 October 1983 (age 41) | Right-handed | Right arm fast medium | International Cap, Visa contract |
| Wicketkeepers |||||||
| 13 | Seb Gotch | (1993-07-12) 12 July 1993 (age 31) | Right-handed | — | |
| 51 | Ben Dunk | (1987-03-11) 11 March 1987 (age 37) | Left-handed | — | International Cap |
| 54 | Peter Handscomb | (1991-04-26) 26 April 1991 (age 33) | Right-handed | — | International Cap |
| Pace Bowlers |||||||
| 9 | Jackson Coleman | (1991-12-18) 18 December 1991 (age 32) | Right-handed | Left arm fast medium | |
| 17 | Daniel Worrall | (1991-07-10) 10 July 1991 (age 33) | Right-handed | Right arm fast medium | International Cap |
| 22 | Jackson Bird | (1986-12-11) 11 December 1986 (age 37) | Right-handed | Right arm fast medium | International Cap |
| 25 | Scott Boland | (1989-04-11) 11 April 1989 (age 35) | Right-handed | Right arm fast medium | International Cap |
| 33 | Liam Plunkett | (1985-04-06) 6 April 1985 (age 39) | Right-handed | Right arm fast | International Cap, Visa Contract |
| Spin Bowlers |||||||
| 1 | Sandeep Lamichhane | (2000-08-02) 2 August 2000 (age 24) | Right-handed | Right arm leg break | International Cap, Visa contract |
| 6 | Tom O'Connell | (2000-06-14) 14 June 2000 (age 24) | Left-handed | Right-arm leg spin | |
| 19 | Michael Beer | (1984-06-09) 9 June 1984 (age 40) | Right-handed | Left arm orthodox | International Cap |
| 23 | Liam Bowe | (1997-09-23) 23 September 1997 (age 27) | Right-handed | Slow left-arm wrist-spin | |
| 28 | Matt Parkinson | (1996-10-24) 24 October 1996 (age 27) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | Visa Contract |
| 63 | Adam Zampa | (1992-03-31) 31 March 1992 (age 32) | Right-handed | Right arm leg break | International Cap |

### Personnel Changes
#### Incoming Players

| Entry date | Role | No. | Player | From team | Notes |
| 27 February 2018 | Batsman | 53 | Nic Maddinson | Sydney Sixers | International Cap |
| 18 July 2018 | Batsman | 28 | Travis Dean | Melbourne Renegades | |
| 23 October 2018 | Spin Bowler | 1 | Sandeep Lamichhane | International Player | Visa Contract and International Cap |
| 23 October 2018 | Spin Bowler | 28 | Matt Parkinson | International Player | Visa Contract |
| 13 November 2018 | All-rounder | 12 | Jonathan Merlo | Free Agent | |
| 15 November 2018 | All-rounder | 47 | Dwayne Bravo | Melbourne Renegades | Visa Contract and International Cap |
| 21 November 2018 | Pace Bowler | 22 | Jackson Bird | Sydney Sixers | International Cap |
| 6 December 2018 | Pace Bowler | 33 | Liam Plunkett | International Player | Visa Contract and International Cap |
| 21 December 2018 | Batsman | 36 | Nick Larkin | Free Agent | |
| 14 January 2019 | Spin Bowler | 6 | Tom O'Connell | Free Agent | |

#### Outgoing Players

| Exit date | Role | No. | Player | To team | Notes |
| 27 January 2018 | Batsman | 21 | Robert Quiney | Retired | International Cap |
| 1 March 2018 | All-rounder | 6 | Luke Wright | Released | Visa Contract and International Cap |
| 1 March 2020 | Pace Bowler | 20 | Ben Hilfenhaus | Released | International Cap |
| 15 March 2018 | Batsman | 24 | Kevin Pietersen | Retired | Visa Contract and International Cap |
| 15 May 2018 | All-rounder | 5 | James Faulkner | Hobart Hurricanes | International Cap |
| 28 May 2018 | All-rounder | 11 | John Hastings | Sydney Sixers | International Cap |
| 31 October 2018 | Spin Bowler | 28 | Matt Parkinson | Withdrew | Visa Contract |
| 9 November 2018 | Spin Bowler | 21 | Daniel Fallins | Sydney Sixers | |
| 21 December 2018 | Wicket-keeper | 2 | Sam Harper | Melbourne Renegades | |

## Season statistics
### Home attendance

| Match | Opponent | Attendance |
| 3 | Melbourne Renegades | 46,418 |
| 4 | Sydney Thunder | 8,156 |
| 5 | Perth Scorchers | 25,342 |
| 8 | Hobart Hurricanes | 20,188 |
| 10 | Adelaide Strikers | 6,093 |
| 11 | Brisbane Heat | 22,231 |
| 14 | Sydney Sixers | 22,359 |
| Total Attendance | Total Attendance | 150,787 |
| Average Attendance | Average Attendance | 21,541 |

### Batting
#### Most runs

| Batsman | Matches | Innings | Runs | BF | Average | SR |
| Marcus Stoinis | 13 | 13 | 533 | 408 | 53.30 | 130.63 |
| Ben Dunk | 16 | 16 | 342 | 289 | 22.80 | 118.33 |
| Glenn Maxwell | 13 | 12 | 331 | 233 | 33.10 | 142.06 |
| Peter Handscomb | 9 | 9 | 193 | 150 | 21.44 | 128.66 |
| Nick Larkin | 8 | 8 | 159 | 137 | 31.80 | 116.05 |
Last updated: 17 February 2019

#### Highest scores

| Batsman | Score | Opp |
| Glenn Maxwell | 82 | Sixers |
| Marcus Stoinis | 81 | Heat |
| Marcus Stoinis | 78* | Renegades |
| Ben Dunk | 72* | Strikers |
| Marcus Stoinis | 70* | Renegades |
Last updated: 17 February 2019

#### Best strike rates

| Batsman | Mat | SR |
| Glenn Maxwell | 1 | 142.06 |
| Evan Gulbis | 12 | 130.98 |
| Marcus Stoinis | 17 | 130.63 |
| Peter Handscomb | 14 | 128.66 |
| Tom O'Connell | 17 | 128.57 |
Last updated: 17 February 2019

#### Most sixes

| Batsman | 6's |
| Glenn Maxwell | 17 |
| Marcus Stoinis | 11 |
| Ben Dunk | 8 |
| Peter Handscomb | 6 |
| Dwayne Bravo | 6 |
Last updated: 17 February 2019