Finn Allen, a New Zealand opener who played for the Perth Scorchers for two seasons, has signed a three-year contract with the Melbourne Stars for BBL|16. The 27-year-old Allen joins new head coach Cameron White’s 18-man roster for the forthcoming season as the twelfth player.
With a tournament-high 466 runs and the Simon Katich Medal for outstanding overseas player, Allen was the Scorchers’ finest player in BBL|15. Allen has chosen to relocate to Melbourne for the start of BBL|16 after Perth was unable to match the Stars’ offer.
He joins Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis, two white-ball experts already in the Stars lineup. The only team in the competition that hasn’t won a Big Bash championship is the Melbourne Stars.
What was Finn Allen performance while he was a member of the Perth Scorchers?
Under a regulation that permitted each club to recruit one international prior to the overseas player draft, Allen joined Perth Scorchers as the team’s first BBL pre-signing. Since then, league officials have abandoned this idea for both the men’s and women’s divisions. It had a challenging debut season in Perth, scoring 181 runs in ten innings.
With 38 maximums, he smashed the most sixes in a single Big Bash season in BBL|15 and was chosen for the BBL|15 Team of the Tournament. At Marvel Stadium, he scored 101 off 53 deliveries in his highest innings against the Renegades. In the Scorchers’ finals games, he also scored 49 and 36 points as Perth won an unprecedented sixth men’s championship.
Finn Allen has continued to participate in international T20 competitions since the BBL|15 victory. In New Zealand’s T20 World Cup semi-final victory over South Africa, he scored an undefeated century from 33 balls, helping the Black Caps advance to the final.
In his first season in the Indian Premier League, he went on to score 349 runs for Kolkata Knight Riders, including a century against Delhi Capitals. He played nine games for the runners-up Trent Rockets in the Hundred after a fourth season with the San Francisco Unicorns.
What does Finn Allen signing entail for the BBL|16 team of the Melbourne Stars?
Finn Allen is the second men’s signing for the Stars since the league relaxed a contracting restriction that had been in effect since February. He is ranked twelfth on Cameron White’s 18-man BBL|16 roster. Todd Murphy, an off-spinner with a Test cap, joined leg-spinner Mitch Swepson in the bowling group on Friday.
Jamie and Craig Overton, brothers from England, have also just been connected to the Stars. With Allen, Maxwell, and Stoinis in the top order, the Stars have significant firepower at the top and middle of their batting lineup for BBL|16.
