The Melbourne Stars have named Marcus Stoinis as their next permanent captain, succeeding fellow allrounder Glenn Maxwell, who stepped down from the role at the end of last season.
Stoinis will become the Stars’ seventh full-time skipper.
Stoinis, who captained the side in a match during Maxwell’s absence last year, expressed his gratitude for the opportunity.
“I had a 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 a constant in my life every summer for the last 10 years, and I truly believe with the group we have assembled this season, both on and off the field, we can bring some long-overdue success to the club,” he added.
Maxwell took over as captain ahead of the 2018-19 season, leading the Stars to two finals, where they finished runners-up both times.
While the Stars were in contention for the playoffs last season, a late slump saw them miss out.
Maxwell led the team for five seasons, though he missed the 2022-23 season due to injury.
He has played the most matches for the Stars (103) and captained them the most (65).
Stoinis has also been a long-time member of the Stars, just two games away from becoming the second player to feature in 100 matches for the team.
He is the Stars’ all-time leading run-scorer with 2,656 runs, and he signed a three-year contract extension at the end of last season.
“I want to acknowledge and thank Maxi 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,” said Stars general manager Blair Crouch.
“Marcus demonstrated his leadership ability last year and has been part of our leadership group for a long time.
It’s wonderful to have someone who has been with the Stars almost from the beginning leading the club in BBL|14,” Crouch added.
Stoinis’s full-time reign will begin with the season opener against the Perth Scorchers at their home ground on December 15.
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