Former Australian cricketer Cameron White is now the coach of the Melbourne Stars. This comes as Cricket Victoria plans to sell its stake in one of its two Big Bash League teams. Both Melbourne franchises will remain operational until at least the 2026-27 season.
White has been the head coach of the Melbourne Renegades for the last two seasons. His transfer to the Stars is a result of Cricket Victoria’s decision to sell its stake in the Renegades amid a movement towards privatizing the Big Bash League. Current Stars coach Peter Moores has expressed a wish to stay, and he will likely continue as White’s senior assistant.
The Stars will continue to be managed by Cricket Victoria, while the Renegades will operate independently, located away from the Junction Oval headquarters. Although the Renegades will remain funded by Cricket Victoria until full ownership changes occur, there isn’t enough time to make significant adjustments to the team for the upcoming BBL season.
“We’ve reached that point now where we had to make a decision as to which brand we would be going forward with (this season). We will go forward as the Melbourne Stars and we’ll continue to look at what that might look like beyond this year. At some point between now and next June, we hope that there will be a change of ownership (for the Renegades),” said Cricket Victoria CEO Nick Cummins on SEN Radio, as quoted by cricket.com.au.
Former Stars general manager Max Abbott will take over the Renegades, while ex-Australian fast bowler Clint McKay will head their high-performance program and team management. Greg Shipperd, a former coach for Victoria and the Stars, is also a candidate for the Renegades head coach position.
Shipperd has a successful history, having won the Big Bash four times with Victoria and also securing four Sheffield Shield titles during his 12 years with the club. He has led the Stars to finals in the league’s early years and won the competition twice with the Sydney Sixers in 2009 and 2010.
“An independent management for the Renegades is really important for the integrity of the competition. The Renegades are trying to win it, rather than being (CV’s) second team. If you are a Renegades fan, Georgia Wareham is going to be playing in the red, Ollie Peake is going to be playing, so your players, your team, are still going to be there,” said Cummins.
There are four main issues to resolve before moving towards privatization: changes in the BBL governance structure, adjustments to Cricket Australia governance, agreements with the Australian Cricketers’ Association on privatization and player salaries, and future funding arrangements between Cricket Australia and the states.
Once these issues are sorted, the teams will be able to make their own decisions, followed by evaluating market values. It is expected that the Renegades will be the first team put on the market.