Quick answer: The Melbourne Stars are one of the eight founding teams of Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL), the men’s Twenty20 competition run by Cricket Australia since 2011-12. They play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in green. Despite topping the table twice and reaching three finals, the Stars have never won the BBL title; they were runners-up in 2015-16, 2018-19 and 2019-20.
The Big Bash League and the Melbourne Stars
Australia has several Twenty20 competitions, but the best known is the Big Bash League. Cricket Australia set it up in 2011 as a city-based franchise league to replace the old state-based Twenty20 Big Bash. The season is played each summer, usually from December into January or February.
The league has eight teams:
- Adelaide Strikers
- Brisbane Heat
- Hobart Hurricanes
- Melbourne Renegades
- Melbourne Stars
- Perth Scorchers
- Sydney Sixers
- Sydney Thunder
The Melbourne Stars, founded in 2011, are one of Melbourne’s two BBL teams and one of the best supported. Their home ground is the MCG, Australia’s largest cricket stadium, and their colour is green.
A highly competitive team, but no title yet
The first BBL season was played in 2011-12, and the Stars were part of it from the start. They reached the semi-finals in each of the first four seasons, and they have finished top of the regular-season table twice, in 2013-14 and 2019-20.
An earlier version of this article said the Stars won the 2013-14 and 2019-20 championships. That was wrong. In those seasons they were minor premiers (first after the league stage), but they did not win the final. In fact the Stars have never won the BBL. Their three finals all ended in defeat:
| Season | Final result |
|---|---|
| 2015-16 | Lost to Sydney Thunder at the MCG |
| 2018-19 | Lost to Melbourne Renegades at Docklands Stadium, Melbourne |
| 2019-20 | Lost to Sydney Sixers at the SCG, Sydney |
Their results since then have been mixed. They missed the finals in four straight seasons from 2020-21 to 2023-24, including a last-place finish in 2022-23, and then reached the knockout stage of the finals in both 2024-25 and 2025-26 without getting further. The women’s team, which plays in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), has not won a title either; its best season was 2020-21, when it topped the table and finished runner-up.
Notable Stars players
Several international players have represented the team. As of the end of the 2025-26 season, all-rounder Marcus Stoinis holds the club record for most runs and leg-spinner Adam Zampa for most wickets, while Glenn Maxwell has won the most Player of the Match awards for the Stars. David Hussey was named BBL Player of the Tournament in the first season, 2011-12. Overseas players to have turned out for the club include England’s Kevin Pietersen and Luke Wright, and Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf.
High-profile rivalries
As one of the strongest teams of the BBL’s early years, the Stars have some fierce rivals. The main ones are:
- the Melbourne Renegades;
- the Sydney Sixers;
- the Sydney Thunder.
The Melbourne Derby
The rivalry with the Renegades is the most obvious one. Both teams are based in Melbourne, a big city with a huge cricket following, so a rivalry was almost inevitable. Their matches are known as the Melbourne Derby. The derby at the MCG on 2 January 2016 drew 80,883 people, reported as a record attendance for a domestic cricket match. The Renegades also beat the Stars in the 2018-19 final.
Melbourne versus Sydney
Other big cities in Australia, such as Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart and Perth, have BBL teams of their own, and all of them have interesting contests with the two Melbourne sides. Matches against the Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder carry extra weight, though, because of the long-standing rivalry between Australia’s two largest cities, which runs through many sports. Both Sydney teams have also beaten the Stars in a final.
A note on betting
An earlier version of this page was written to promote a cricket betting website, and it encouraged readers to bet on Melbourne Stars matches. We have removed that material. In India, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 prohibits online money games, including betting, and also bans advertising them, so we do not recommend or link to betting sites.
For Indian cricket’s own Twenty20 league, see our explainer on the IPL Purple Cap, awarded to the season’s leading wicket-taker. If you would rather watch cricket at a big Indian ground, our visitor guides cover Eden Gardens in Kolkata and Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Frequently asked questions
Have the Melbourne Stars ever won the Big Bash League?
No. As of the end of the 2025-26 season, the Stars had not won the BBL. They were runners-up three times, in 2015-16, 2018-19 and 2019-20.
Where do the Melbourne Stars play their home games?
Their home ground is the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Who are the Melbourne Stars’ biggest rivals?
Their biggest rivals are the Melbourne Renegades, the other Melbourne team; their matches are called the Melbourne Derby. Games against the two Sydney teams, the Sixers and the Thunder, are also keenly contested.
How many teams are in the Big Bash League?
Eight: Adelaide Strikers, Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Stars, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder.
Checked in November 2026 against season-by-season BBL and WBBL records and India’s Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 as published by the Government of India. Squad and record details change each season.
