Melbourne Stars is one of the eight teams that will feature in the seventh edition of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL). The WBBL starts from October 14. Melbourne Stars have a strong squad of 14, out of which three are overseas players, including two players from England (Maia Bouchier and Linsey Smith) and one player from Ireland (Kimberley Garth).
Squad: Meg Lanning (captain), Annabel Sutherland, Maia Bouchier, Kimberley Garth, Linsey Smith, Lucy Cripps, Maddy Darke, Nicole Faltum, Tess Flintoff, Georgia Gall, Anna Lanning, Rhys McKenna, Erin Osborne, Elyse Villani
Squad analysis – Melbourne Stars
Meg Lanning:
The Australian captain will be the captain of the Melbourne Stars. She is a prolific right-hand bat and a good leader. She is an excellent fielder too. She has abundant experience of playing T20I cricket. She has represented Australia in 113 T20Is and has scored 2943 runs, including 13 half-centuries and two centuries.
Annabel Sutherland:
She can bat, she can bowl, she can field. She is an excellent all-rounder and an asset for any side. Before joining Melbourne Stars, she was with Melbourne Renegades. She has been a part of the Australian squad since 2020 and has played seven T20Is, four ODIs and one Test.
Maia Bouchier:
She idolizes Natalie Sciver and just like her idol, she is a right hand middle order bat and right arm seamer. She has featured in a couple of T20Is for England. She is an upcoming talent and was also a part of the Southern Brave squad in the Hundred.
Kimberley Garth:
Hailing from a family of cricketers, she is a right hand opening bat and right arm seamer. She has featured in 51 T20Is for Ireland and has scored 762 runs in 46 innings. With the ball, she has picked up 42 wickets in 43 innings. She has permanently moved from Ireland to Melbourne.
Linsey Smith:
She is a slow left arm orthodox bowler and a left hand bat. She has played for England in nine T20Is between 2018 and 2019 and has accounted for 13 wickets, including the best of 3-18. She was also a part of the Northern Superchargers squad in the Hundred.
Lucy Cripps:
She made her WBBL debut a couple of seasons back playing for the Melbourne Stars. She plays her domestic cricket for Victoria. She is a right hand bat and right arm seamer.
Maddy Darke:
She is a promising wicketkeeper-batter who made her WBBL debut for the Sydney Sixers in WBBL|05. She featured in all the matches in her debut season, though she didn’t don the wicket-keeping gloves. Just before making her WBBL debut, she was selected for her first Australia A tour with the squad travelling to the United Kingdom.
Nicole Faltum:
She is a wicketkeeper-batter, who earlier played for Melbourne Renegades. She was selected by Melbourne Stars in WBBL|03 and since then has been an integral part of the squad. The right-hander also plays Premier cricket at Dandenong and domestic cricket for Victoria.
Tess Flintoff:
She is a right hand bat and right arm speedster, who plays her domestic cricket for Victoria. She has featured in 27 WBBL matches and has scored 84 runs in 11 innings. She has picked up 13 wickets in 22 innings, including the best of 3-13.
Georgia Gall:
The left hand bat and left arm seamer was signed for Melbourne Stars in the last season, however she is yet to make her WBBL debut. She hails from Euroa and was selected to represent the Cricket Australia XI in 2019 – a squad of 15 young cricketers who compete in the national Under 18 championships.
Anna Lanning:
She is a right hand bat, who represents Victoria at the domestic level. She has also played some cricket in the UK. She has featured in 38 WBBL matches and has scored 371 runs in 32 innings, including the best of 73. She comes from a cricketing family, given that Meg, her elder sister, is the captain of Australia.
Rhys McKenna:
She is a right arm seamer, who plays for Victoria at the domestic level. This will be her first WBBL season. Apart from her bowling, she is handy with the bat and an excellent fielder.
Erin Osborne:
She is an experienced campaigner having played 77 WBBL matches. She started her WBBL journey with Sydney Thunder playing the first two seasons for them. In the third season, she was picked by Melbourne Stars. In her very first season with the Stars, she was named the Melbourne Stars women’s player of the season. Apart from this, she was a part of the Australian team from 2009 to 2016, during which she scored 465 international runs and picked up 121 international wickets.
Elyse Villani:
She played international cricket for Australia from 2009 to 2019. The right hand middle order bat has scored 2044 international runs and has seven wickets to her name. She represented Perth Scorchers in the WBBL for the first four seasons before moving to Melbourne Stars from season five onwards.
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.