There is no love lost in the Melbourne Stars team or the Big Bash League (BBL), especially on Valentine’s Day 2023. Although the Stars finished at the bottom of the points table this season, BBL got cheeky and shared a picture of their two biggest stars – Adam Zampa and Marcus Stoinis – sharing a kiss on Valentine’s Day.


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The BBL shared the picture with a caption of ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’. Captain Zampa was the second-highest wicket-taker for the Stars with 16 wickets in 14 matches, just behind Luke Wood – who picked up 20 wickets in 14 matches.



All-rounder Marcus Stoinis, on the other hand, had a forgettable season – scoring just 190 runs in 9 matches with two half-centuries at an average of just 23.75.


Zampa has sent a powerful message to national selectors after taking three wickets for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield having been overlooked twice for the Indian tour in the space of a few weeks.


The veteran leg-spinner missed out on the original squad and was again overlooked on the weekend when selectors opted to bring in Queensland’s Matt Kuhnemann to replace Mitch Swepson who flew home for the birth of his first child.


Zampa bowled beautifully on day three of the Shield game against Tasmania at the SCG. The 30-year-old took 3-41 to help bowl the visitors out for 236 after the winless Blues reached 8/417 in their first dig before declaring thanks to another dazzling century from Daniel Hughes.


“I was close. I got told from George Bailey and Andrew McDonald that it was one of the toughest (decisions) they had to make for the tour. I’m very disappointed, I would have loved to be on it,” Zampa was quoted as saying by Fox Sports last month.