# Melbourne Stars (WBBL)

The Melbourne Stars (WBBL) are an Australian women's Twenty20 cricket team based in St Kilda, Victoria. They are one of two teams from Melbourne to compete in the Women's Big Bash League, the other being the Melbourne Renegades. To date, the Stars' best performance occurred in WBBL|06 when they ended the regular season as minor premiers before ultimately finishing as runners-up.

## History
### Formation

One of eight founding WBBL teams, the Melbourne Stars are aligned with the men's team of the same name. At the official WBBL launch on 10 July 2015, Meg Lanning was unveiled as the Stars' first-ever player signing. Lanning would also become the team's inaugural captain, while David Hemp was appointed as the inaugural coach.
The Stars played their first match on 5 December against the Brisbane Heat at the Junction Oval, winning by 20 runs.

### Rivalries
#### Hobart Hurricanes

The Stars and Hobart Hurricanes have combined to produce an inordinate amount of matches with close finishes, including:
* 16 January 2016, Blacktown ISP Oval: On a crumbling pitch, criticised earlier in the Australian summer for its sub-standard preparation, the Stars crawled to a first innings total of 7/96 before fighting back to have the Hurricanes at 4/49 in the twelfth over of the run chase. An unbroken stand of 48 runs from the next 51 balls between Corinne Hall and Amy Satterthwaite steered Hobart out of trouble, with Hall scoring a single on the final delivery to secure victory for the 'Canes.
* 20 January 2017, Blundstone Arena: In a rain-affected encounter, Hobart posted a first innings total of 3/115 off 14 overs. Chasing a revised target of 98 from twelve overs, Melbourne lost 4/7 late in the match (including the wicket of Emma Inglis for 51 off 31) to leave a required twelve runs from the last two balls for victory. Jess Cameron proceeded to hit a six off the penultimate legal delivery before Hurricanes off-spinner Amy Satterthwaite bowled a front-foot no-ball while also conceding a four on what would have otherwise been the final ball of the innings. With Satterthwaite having to bowl the final delivery again, Cameron scored the remaining single needed to pull off an unlikely six-wicket win for the Stars.
* 21 January 2017, Blundstone Arena: The following morning, on the last day of the WBBL|02 regular season, the Stars and Hurricanes met again—this time in what was effectively a quarter-final knockout match with the winner progressing to the semi-finals and the loser being eliminated from the tournament. Meg Lanning made 81 runs for the Stars in the first innings, earning Player of the Match honours, but was dismissed in the 19th over by a stunning Julie Hunter catch at square leg. A spell of 3/11 off four overs by Kristen Beams was not enough to defend the target of 136 as the Hurricanes scored the winning runs (through Corinne Hall again) with four wickets in hand and one ball remaining.

#### Melbourne Renegades

Noteworthy matches between the Stars and their cross-town rivals, the Melbourne Renegades, include:
* 1 January 2017, Melbourne Cricket Ground: Played in front of a reported crowd of 24,547—as part of a double-header with the men's BBL, setting a new record for the highest non-standalone WBBL attendance—the rain-affected match ended in anticlimactic fashion with the Renegades adjudged nine-wicket winners via the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method. Stars captain Meg Lanning initially protested the ruling with officiating umpires, claiming she had been given false information about the par score by the match referee.
* 20 January 2018, Melbourne Cricket Ground: Chasing 119 for victory, Renegades captain Amy Satterthwaite—who looked to have been run out earlier in the innings and left the field, but was recalled after TV replays showed wicket-keeper Nicole Faltum had dislodged the bails prematurely—hit a six off the final delivery against the bowling of Georgia Elwiss to tie the game. With scores still level after the super over, the Stars were awarded the win on the boundary count back rule.
* 29 December 2018, Docklands Stadium: The Renegades recorded the second one-wicket victory in the league's history when Lea Tahuhu, a fast bowler not known for her batting ability, hit the winning single off leg-spinning Stars captain Kristen Beams with just one ball to spare. Courtney Webb, on 21 not out, was the set batter at the non-striker's end.

## Captaincy records

There have been six captains in the Stars' history, including matches featuring an acting captain.
| Captain | Span | M | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | W–L% |
| Meg Lanning | 2015–23 | 68 | 30 | 33 | 0 | 5 | 47.62 |
| Kristen Beams | 2017–19 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 36.84 |
| Erin Osborne | 2018–19 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 44.44 |
| Elyse Villani | 2019 | 14 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 14.29 |
| Nicole Faltum | 2022 | 14 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 45.45 |
| Annabel Sutherland | 2023–24 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 41.67 |
Source:

## Season summaries

| Season | W–L | Pos. | Finals | Coach | Captain | Most Runs | Most Wickets | Most Valuable Player |
| 2015–16 | 7–7 | 5th | DNQ | David Hemp | Meg Lanning | Meg Lanning – 560* | Morna Nielsen – 18 | Meg Lanning* |
| 2016–17 | 7–7 | 5th | DNQ | David Hemp | Meg Lanning | Meg Lanning – 502* | Gemma Triscari – 13 | Meg Lanning |
| 2017–18 | 5–9 | 7th | DNQ | David Hemp | Kristen Beams | Lizelle Lee – 349 | Erin Osborne – 15 | Erin Osborne |
| 2018–19 | 5–8 | 7th | DNQ | David Hemp | Kristen Beams | Lizelle Lee – 276 | Alana King – 15 | Alana King |
| 2019–20 | 2–12 | 8th | DNQ | David Hemp | Elyse Villani | Lizelle Lee – 475 | Erin Osborne – 11 | Lizelle Lee |
| 2020–21 | 8–3* | 1st* | RU | Trent Woodhill | Meg Lanning | Meg Lanning – 493 | Nat Sciver – 19 | Nat Sciver |
| 2021–22 | 5–7 | 5th | DNQ | Jarrad Loughman | Meg Lanning | Elyse Villani – 439 | Kim Garth – 15 | Kim Garth |
| 2022–23 | 5–6 | 6th | DNQ | Jonathan Batty | Nicole Faltum | Annabel Sutherland – 304 | Annabel Sutherland – 21 | Annabel Sutherland |
| 2023–24 | 6–8 | 7th | DNQ | Jonathan Batty | Meg Lanning | Annabel Sutherland – 288 | Sophie Day – 27* | Annabel Sutherland |
| 2024–25 | 2–7 | 8th | DNQ | Jonathan Batty | Annabel Sutherland | Meg Lanning – 158 | Kim Garth – 10 | |
Legend :
| DNQ | Did not qualify | SF | Semi-finalists | * | Led the league |
| EF | Lost the Eliminator | RU | Runners-up | ^ | League record |
| CF | Lost the Challenger | C | Champions |

## Home grounds

| Venue | Games hosted by season | Games hosted by season | Games hosted by season | Games hosted by season | Games hosted by season | Games hosted by season | Games hosted by season | Games hosted by season | Games hosted by season | Games hosted by season | Games hosted by season |
| Venue | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | Total |
| Casey Fields | – | 2 | 2 | 2 | – | N/A | N/A | – | 1 | – | 7 |
| Eastern Oval | – | – | – | – | – | N/A | N/A | 1 | – | – | 1 |
| Jubilee Park | – | – | – | – | – | N/A | N/A | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| CitiPower Centre | 4 | – | – | 1 | 6 | N/A | N/A | 2 | 3 | 3 | 19 |
| Melbourne Cricket Ground | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | – | N/A | N/A | – | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| Ted Summerton Reserve | – | – | – | – | – | N/A | N/A | 2 | – | – | 2 |
| Toorak Park | – | 1 | – | – | – | N/A | N/A | – | – | – | 1 |

## Current squad

The squad of the Melbourne Stars for the 2025–26 Women's Big Bash League season as of 19 February 2025.
* Players with international caps are listed in bold.
| No. | Name | Birth Date | Batting Style | Bowling Style | Additional Info. |
| Batters |||||||
| 7 | Meg Lanning | 25 March 1992 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| All-rounders |||||||
| 77 | Marizanne Kapp | 4 January 1990 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | Overseas Pre-Signing |
| 11 | Rhys McKenna | 17 August 2004 | Right-handed | Left-arm fast | |
| 3 | Annabel Sutherland | 12 October 2001 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | Captain |
| Wicket-keepers |||||||
| 55 | Ines McKeon | 19 April 2007 | Right-handed | — | |
| 20 | Sophie Reid | 28 August 1997 | Left-handed | — | |
| Bowlers |||||||
| 6 | Sophie Day | 2 September 1998 | Left-handed | Left-arm orthodox | |

## Players
### Australian representatives

The following is a list of cricketers who have played for the Melbourne Stars after making their debut in the national women's team (the period they spent as both a Melbourne Stars squad member and an Australian-capped player is in brackets):
* Kristen Beams (WBBL|01–05)
* Meg Lanning (WBBL|01–02, 06–10)
* Jess Cameron (WBBL|03)
* Erin Osborne (WBBL|03–07)
* Holly Ferling (WBBL|04–06)
* Elyse Villani (WBBL|05–07)
* Annabel Sutherland (WBBL|06–10)

### Overseas marquees

* Mignon du Preez (WBBL|01, 03–06)
* Hayley Jensen (WBBL|01)
* Morna Nielsen (WBBL|01–02)
* Nat Sciver-Brunt (WBBL|01–02, 06)
* Danielle Hazell (WBBL|02)
* Georgia Elwiss (WBBL|03–04)
* Lizelle Lee (WBBL|03–05)
* Katey Martin (WBBL|03–05)
* Katherine Brunt (WBBL|06)
* Rosemary Mair (WBBL|06)
* Maia Bouchier (WBBL|07, 09)
* Kim Garth (WBBL|07)
* Linsey Smith (WBBL|07)
* Alice Capsey (WBBL|08–09)
* Bess Heath (WBBL|08)
* Jemimah Rodrigues (WBBL|08)
* Lauren Winfield-Hill (WBBL|08)
* Sophia Dunkley (WBBL|09)
* Yastika Bhatia (WBBL|10)
* Marizanne Kapp (WBBL|10)
* Deepti Sharma (WBBL|10)

### Associate rookies

* Wu Juan (WBBL|01)
* Kathryn Bryce (WBBL|02)
* Khadija Tul Kubra (WBBL|03)

## Statistics and awards
### Team stats

* Champions: 0
* Runners-up: 1 – WBBL|06
* Minor premiers: 1 – WBBL|06
* Win–loss record:
| Opposition | M | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | W–L% |
| Adelaide Strikers | 19 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 50 |
| Brisbane Heat | 20 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 38.89 |
| Hobart Hurricanes | 19 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 36.84 |
| Melbourne Renegades | 20 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 44.44 |
| Perth Scorchers | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 45 |
| Sydney Sixers | 20 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 47.37 |
| Sydney Thunder | 20 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 25 |
| Total | 135 | 53 | 75 | 0 | 10 | 41.41 |
* Highest score in an innings: 4/195 (20 overs) vs Sydney Sixers, 1 November 2024
* Highest successful chase: 1/181 (19.3 overs) vs Adelaide Strikers, 21 November 2021
* Lowest successful defence: 7/108 (20 overs) vs Sydney Thunder, 26 October 2021
* Largest victory:
** Batting first: 54 runs vs Brisbane Heat, 26 December 2016
** Batting second: 46 balls remaining vs Hobart Hurricanes, 1 November 2020
* Longest winning streak: 6 matches (1–14 November 2020)
* Longest losing streak: 6 matches (9–22 November 2024)
Source:

### Individual stats

* Most runs: Meg Lanning – 2,247
* Highest score in an innings: Lizelle Lee – 103* (65) vs Perth Scorchers, 2 November 2019
* Highest partnership: Meg Lanning and Mignon du Preez – 156* vs Adelaide Strikers, 8 January 2016
* Most wickets: Annabel Sutherland – 89
* Best bowling figures in an innings: Sophie Day – 5/25 (4 overs) vs Sydney Sixers, 8 November 2023
* Hat-tricks taken: Gemma Triscari vs Sydney Thunder, 15 January 2016
* Most catches (fielder): Annabel Sutherland – 37
* Most dismissals (wicket-keeper): Nicole Faltum – 39 (23 catches, 16 stumpings)
Source:

### Individual awards

* Player of the Match:
** Meg Lanning – 13
** Annabel Sutherland – 7
** Sophie Day, Alana King, Erin Osborne, and Nat Sciver-Brunt – 3
** Tess Flintoff, Kim Garth, Emma Inglis, Lizelle Lee, and Katie Mack – 2
** Kristen Beams, Yastika Bhatia, Katherine Brunt, Jess Cameron, Alice Capsey, Mignon du Preez, Georgia Elwiss, Danielle Hazell, Rhys McKenna, Sasha Moloney, Gemma Triscari, and Elyse Villani – 1
* WBBL Player of the Tournament: Meg Lanning – WBBL|01
* WBBL Team of the Tournament:
** Meg Lanning (3) – WBBL|01, WBBL|02, WBBL|06
** Annabel Sutherland (2) – WBBL|08, WBBL|09
** Morna Nielsen – WBBL|01
** Kristen Beams – WBBL|02
** Alana King – WBBL|06
** Nat Sciver-Brunt – WBBL|06
** Sophie Day – WBBL|09
* WBBL Young Gun Award: Tess Flintoff – WBBL|08

## Sponsors

| Year | Kit Manufacturer | Chest Sponsor | Back Sponsor | Breast Sponsor | Sleeve Sponsor |
| 2015–16 | Majestic Athletic | Rebel Sport | Antler | VicHealth | Rebel |
| 2016–17 | Majestic Athletic | Rebel Sport | Optus | Yes | Rebel |
| 2017–18 | Majestic Athletic | Rebel Sport | Optus | Yes | Rebel |
| 2018–19 | Majestic Athletic | Yes | Optus | Yes | Rebel |
| 2019–20 | Majestic Athletic | Yes | Optus | Yes | Yes |
| 2020–21 | Majestic Athletic | MG | MG | Belling | Dimplex |
| 2021–22 | Nike | MG | MG | Belling | Aussie Broadband |