Stars spin 'battery' on the cards after Swepson signing

Melbourne Stars are pondering a "battery" of spin for next season to build an MCG fortress after luring former international leggie Mitch Swepson from Brisbane.

Free agent Swepson signed a lucrative three-year deal on the final day of last month's inaugural Player Movement Window, boosting the Stars' local spin stocks for BBL|15 alongside rising West Australian Hamish McKenzie, who joined the club last year.

Stars head coach Peter Moores also floated adding a third specialist spinner via the overseas draft following the success of Usama Mir in KFC BBL|14, with the towering Pakistan leg-spinner capturing 11 wickets in his eight games.

Mir's season – his second in a row at the Stars – included a pair of two-wicket hauls at the MCG where he operated with an exceptional economy rate of 6.50 in his three BBL|14 games at the venue.

Moores is determined to build on his side's success at home in BBL|14 where they won three of their four matches, and believes spin will be a key weapon in doing so.

"Mitch Swepson is going to be fantastic for us, spin at the MCG always goes pretty well," he said.

"Spin was a big priority for us (post-season) so that's ticked that box.

"With Hamish and Mitch in the team, it gives us local spin, which we haven't had since Adam Zampa left and that's really important.

"It means our overseas slots, we could still go down that spin route and have a battery of spin, or we can look at other options to strengthen areas that we know we want to get better.

"Usama's that big, tall leggie and at the MCG, where the boundaries are shorter straight than square, if you don't get hit straight as a spinner then you're normally in the game.

"And Usama, with the bounce he gets, it makes it very hard to hit him over his head."

Mir was one of three overseas spinners the club signed in BBL|13 – Moores' first as head coach – after they traded Zampa to the Renegades in exchange for wicketkeeper Sam Harper at the end of the previous season.

They prised McKenzie from the Scorchers ahead of BBL|14 after the left-arm wrist spinner impressed in his limited opportunities behind Ashton Agar, which included a haul of 2-12 against the Stars at the MCG in December 2023.

But after McKenzie was sidelined for most of BBL|14 with a side strain, and Mir missed the first three games due to domestic commitments in Pakistan, adding another local spinner in Swepson is a huge boost for the Stars given the uncertainties around re-drafting Mir and overseas player availability.

While Swepson's formed dipped to a BBL career-low four-wicket campaign this summer, Moores insisted he would be a great asset in 25-year-old McKenzie's development.

"I'm hoping it'll give (Swepson) a new lease of life because exciting for him to go with a new group and a new challenge," Moores said.

"He's a top-flight bowler; he'll be great for Hamish (McKenzie) as well as a young spinner.

"Hamish is a really talented player – batter and bowler – so I felt for him this year because he was good in the prep, and I think he would have had a really good tournament."

Aside from an extra spinner, Moores hinted a top order batter could be another draft target later this year as they seek more consistent returns from their top three next season to complement their powerful middle order of Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Hilton Cartwright and English allrounder Tom Curran.

England Test opener Ben Duckett enjoyed a terrific BBL|14 with three half-centuries in his seven games but his availability will be significantly impacted but next summer's Ashes, meaning the Stars might look elsewhere in the draft.

Despite losing Beau Webster to the Hurricanes and Joel Paris to the Scorchers during the post-BBL|14 Player Movement Window, Moores said they'd retained enough of their core group for BBL|15, which would go a long way to helping start the season better than 0-5.

"Our priority would be to start the tournament well next season," he said. "We've had two seasons in a row where we haven't started as well as we wanted.

"To start well, often it comes down to experienced players and a consistent roster that comes back the following year, so people know where they're at.

"My first season (at the Stars), we won four on the road and we couldn't win at home. This season we won at home, and we didn't win as much on the road. If we put those together, we're having a great season.

"I don't think any team continually qualifies for finals year-on-year without winning their home games, so it's important to know how to win at your home ground."