By Zainab Shafiq 
After a disappointing season in the Big Bash League (BBL), Glenn Maxwell has resigned as the captain of the Melbourne Stars. The Stars finished at No. 6 on the points table, winning four and losing six out of 10 matches. Maxwell’s decision to step down comes after more than five years of leading the team, a tenure that began in 2018 when he replaced John Hastings.
Reports suggest that Maxwell informed his teammates about his decision following the team’s seven-run loss to Hobart Hurricanes on January 15. The Stars, under the new head coach Peter Moores, missed the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season, facing a challenging campaign with a 4-6 win-loss record.
Maxwell, expressing frustration before the loss to Hobart Hurricanes, mentioned missed opportunities and untimely injuries. Despite leading the team to the BBL decider in 2018-19 and 2019-20, the Stars lost in both finals to Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Sixers, respectively.
While Maxwell, 35, still has a couple of years left in his contract with the Stars, Marcus Stoinis, another veteran all-rounder, is reportedly out of contract, and the Stars are keen to retain him. Melbourne renewed Hilton Cartwright’s contract for another two years before the season, but contracts of Joe Burns, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Brody Couch, and Corey Rocchiccioli have expired.
Maxwell acknowledges the team’s dominance in the initial years but expresses frustration over not overcoming the final hurdle in the last four years. Despite the disappointment, Maxwell’s decision to step down as captain does not impact his contractual commitment to the Melbourne Stars. The team now faces the task of reassessing their squad composition, including the expiration of several contracts, as they aim for better results in future BBL seasons.
“We left our run in someone else’s hands which is never what you want to do in this game. We put ourselves in this position and we have to live with that now. After the first couple of years, having so much dominance and not being able to get over that final hurdle, it feels like the last four years out of finals contention is quite frustrating. We feel like we’ve had a good enough list, probably haven’t had enough luck with injuries and timing, replacements and it just all seems to compound on itself,” Maxwell was quoted as saying by Fox Cricket.