Marcus Stoinis announced as new Melbourne Stars skipper with 35-year-old set to replace Glenn Maxwell at the helm.
Marcus Stoinis has been appointed as the new captain of the Melbourne Stars for the 2024-25 BBL season.
He will take over for veteran captain Glenn Maxwell, who resigned at the end of the previous summer.
In Maxwell’s absence last season, Stoinis, 35, led Stars once before. When Maxwell missed the whole 2022–2023 BBL season because of a broken leg, he was a contender to be the team’s temporary captain. However, the Stars decided to assign Adam Zampa to the position instead.
After signing a three-year contract extension at the end of the previous season, Stoinis will stay with the Stars until the end of 2026–2027. He is only the second player after Maxwell to play 100 BBL games.
Stoinis expressed his honour at assuming the position.
“I had a little bit of a taste of captaining the side in Maxi’s absence last year and loved the opportunity so to be given the role full-time is a great honour,” Stoinis said.
“The Stars have been such a constant in my life every summer for the last 10 years and I truly believe that the group we have assembled both on and off the field can bring some long overdue success to the club.”
Stars General Manager Blair Crouch acknowledged Maxwell’s contribution as the leader over the past five seasons.
“First of all, I want to acknowledge and thank Glenn Maxwell for all his efforts in leading the side over the past five seasons and he will continue to be a wonderful resource for everyone at the club,” Crouch said.
“Marcus demonstrated his leadership ability last year and has been a senior member of the side for a long time.
“It’s wonderful to have someone who has been at the Stars almost from our inception lead our club in BBL14.”
In the early going of the season, Stoinis is probably going to start with a diminished lineup. Maxwell’s recovery from his hamstring injury is uncertain. It doesn’t appear likely that he will play in the season opener. Beau Webster and Scott Boland will also be left out of Australia’s Test team. Ben Duckett and Osama Mir, who were signed from overseas, will also miss the season’s opening three games.