Unnamed Melbourne BBL franchise

Unnamed Melbourne BBL franchise
NicknameTBD[1]
LeagueBig Bash League
AssociationCricket Australia
Team information
CityMelbourne, Victoria
Home groundMelbourne Cricket Ground
Capacity100,024

The unnamed Melbourne BBL franchise is a proposed Australian men's professional Twenty20 (T20) franchise cricket team that would compete in Australia's domestic Twenty20 competition, the Big Bash League (BBL).[2] It would be a merger of the brands of the Melbourne Renegades and the Melbourne Stars, utilising the Stars' existing BBL license.[3] Nick Cummins, the CEO of Cricket Victoria (CV), has described the new team as "just a merger of brands and staff" and "not a merger of the teams".[4]

The team would be known as Melbourne (with a nickname to be determined), play home matches at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) – the home ground of the Stars – and "almost certainly" wear navy blue colours.[1][5]

The new team was announced on 2 June 2026, but two weeks later, it was confirmed that both the Renegades and the Stars would compete in the upcoming 2026–27 Big Bash League season under their existing names.[6]

History

Scenes during the Stars' match against the Adelaide Strikers on 13 January 2026

Background

The Renegades and the Stars were both formed in 2011 for the inaugural Big Bash League season.[7] The Renegades won its first and only BBL title in 2018–19, when they defeated the Stars by 13 runs.[8] The Stars have never won a BBL title, despite making the final on three occasions.[9]

As the two Melbourne-based teams, the Renegades and the Stars had a rivalry and played each other in the Melbourne Derby twice during each regular season.[10] During the first leg of the two derbies at the MCG in the 2015–16 season, the derby drew a record crowd of 80,883, which is the highest crowd for any domestic cricket match in the history of the sport.[11]

In the two Melbourne Derby matches during the 2025–26 season, the Renegades won the first leg by four runs in front of 68,124 people at the MCG, while the Stars won by eight wickets in the second leg at Docklands Stadium.[12][13]

Merger

Discussions around merging the Renegades and the Stars began at Cricket Victoria (CV) in late December 2025.[14] The decision to merge the teams was kept secret until it was first reported on 2 June 2026 by sports journalist Tom Morris.[14] Players were not notified of the merger before it was publicly reported, with only "select senior administrators" aware in advance.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 Morris, Tom (2 June 2026). "Breaking: Stars and Renegades to merge into solo Victorian BBL franchise". SEN. Archived from the original on 2 June 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  2. ↑ "Plan for Stars, Renegades to merge in BBL shake-up". AAP. 2 June 2026. Archived from the original on 2 June 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  3. ↑ Malcolm, Alex (2 June 2026). "Melbourne Stars and Renegades set to merge, second franchise to be sold in full". ESPN. Archived from the original on 2 June 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  4. ↑ "Melbourne Renegades BBL licence to be sold as Cricket Victoria establishes new team". ABC News. 3 June 2026. Archived from the original on 3 June 2026. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  5. ↑ Laughton, Max (2 June 2026). "Big Bash teams 'set to merge' as two new Melbourne sides loom in sell-off stunner". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 2 June 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  6. ↑ McGlashan, Andrew; Malcolm, Alex (16 June 2026). "Melbourne Stars, Renegades likely to exist for another BBL season". ESPN. Archived from the original on 17 June 2026. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
  7. ↑ "Strikers signal intent by thumping Renegades". ABC News. 18 December 2011. Archived from the original on 30 October 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  8. ↑ Cherny, Daniel (17 February 2019). "Stunning Stars collapse delivers Renegades title". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 25 February 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  9. ↑ Pierik, Jon (8 December 2023). "Blow for Stars as superstar Maxwell ruled out after opening night flop". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 3 March 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  10. ↑ "BBL stars question Docklands stadium six rule as Renegades beat Stars in Melbourne derby". ABC News. 15 January 2023. Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  11. ↑ "Big Bash League: Record 80,000 crowd thrills organisers, causes delays and frustration for fans". ABC News. 3 January 2016. Archived from the original on 22 February 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  12. ↑ Ryan, Peter (5 January 2026). "'Has he just dropped the mace?': The thrilling finish to the Melbourne derby that had the MCG rocking". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 6 January 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  13. ↑ "Stars openers take derby revenge on Renegades". Melbourne Stars. 13 January 2026. Archived from the original on 2 June 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  14. 1 2 3 Morris, Tom (3 June 2026). "Inside story: The how and why of Melbourne BBL merger". SEN. Archived from the original on 3 June 2026. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
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