Finn Allen Set to Play for Melbourne Stars in BBL|16
The Melbourne Stars have recruited New Zealand starter Finn Allen on a three-year deal for BBL|16, ending his two-season stay with the Perth Scorchers. Allen, 27, becomes the twelfth player on new head coach Cameron White’s 18-man roster for the next season.
Allen was the Scorchers’ standout performer in BBL|15, hitting a tournament-high 466 runs and winning the Simon Katich Medal as the competition’s top overseas player. Perth couldn’t match the Stars’ offer, thus Allen has decided to relocate to Melbourne for the start of BBL|16.
He joins fellow white-ball specialists Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis in the Stars’ lineup. The Melbourne Stars are the only franchise in the competition yet to win a Big Bash title.
How did Finn Allen perform with the Perth Scorchers?
Allen joined the Perth Scorchers as the club’s first BBL pre-signing under a provision that allowed each team to sign one international before the foreign player draft, an idea that league officials have since abandoned for both the men’s and women’s tournaments. His first season at Perth was challenging, scoring 181 runs in ten innings.
He reacted brilliantly in BBL|15, hitting the most sixes in a single Big Bash season with 38 and earning a spot on the BBL|15 Team of the Tournament.
His best performance came against the Renegades at Marvel Stadium, when he scored 101 off 53 deliveries. He also scored 49 and 36 runs in the Scorchers’ finals matches, helping Perth win a record sixth men’s title.
Finn Allen has continued to play in global T20 leagues since winning the BBL|15. He produced an undefeated century from 33 balls in New Zealand’s T20 World Cup semi-final win over South Africa, with the Black Caps reaching the final.
He subsequently scored 349 runs for the Kolkata Knight Riders in his first Indian Premier League appearance, including a century against the Delhi Capitals. He spent a fourth season with the San Francisco Unicorns before appearing in nine games with the Trent Rockets, who finished second in the Hundred.
What implications does Finn Allen arrival have for the Melbourne Stars’ BBL|16 squad?
Finn Allen occupies the twelfth spot on Cameron White’s 18-man BBL|16 roster, becoming the Stars’ second men’s acquisition since the league relaxed a contracting restriction in February.
Test-capped off-spinner Todd Murphy was added to the squad on Friday, joining leg-spinner Mitch Swepson in the bowling group. Jamie and Craig Overton, both from England, have recently been associated with the Stars.
The Stars now have a top-order trio of Allen, Maxwell, and Stoinis, providing significant firepower at the top and middle of their batting lineup for BBL|16.
