Marcus Stoinis is one of those all-rounders who is looked at as someone who can bring stability to the side in batting as well as bowling departments.
Stoinis is known for his big hits and is primarily a T20-suitable player. He bowls a heavy ball which becomes tough to negotiate especially in the Australian conditions where the pitches already have a bouncy nature.
* Last updated on 10 October 2019
Stoinis earned a name for himself after representing his country at the U19 World Cup in 2008 following his stints with the Western Australia U17 and U19 teams. He finally made his List A debut for the senior Western Australia side in 2009 in the Ford Ranger Cup. Just a couple of days later, he also made his Sheffield Shield debut, both against Queensland.
He played a few matches for his side in the season but was not a surety in the XI. He also played for his club called Scarborough in the Western Australia Grade Cricket competition. He also played in the Victorian Premier Cricket tournament for the Northcote club and scored a huge amount of runs. He then went to England to play in the Northampton Premier League in the 2012 English season. The all-rounder made a name when he took a hattrick in the competition. He was then selected to play for Kent in the Second XI Championship.
Also see - Virat Kohli Biography
Stoinis played a brilliant innings of 170 against Tasmania cricket team that made the selectors play him in the top order for Victoria. He continued his purple patch in the following season and capped off the 2014/15 Sheffield Shield season as the highest run-getter in the tournament for the Victorian side. He scored 785 runs at an average of 49.06.
He earned his national call-up because of his performances at the domestic level in Australia and England.
Stoinis made his international debut in a T20I against England cricket team on 31 August 2015 at Cardiff. The home side posted 182/5 on the board in their 20 overs. Stoinis bowled just one over that yielded 13 runs. The Aussies faltered in the run-chase and fell just 5 runs short of the target. The debutant was unbeaten on 10 off 8 balls.
Just 11 days later, he made his ODI debut against the same opposition at Leeds on 11 September 2015. Australia batted first and got to 299/7 in their 50 overs leaving England to chase a ‘not so tough’ target of 300 runs. Stoinis scored 4 runs off 5 balls. However, skipper Eoin Morgan (92) led England to a victory by 3 wickets with 10 balls to spare.
He was announced in the centrally contracted players by Cricket Australia in April 2018. He was named in Australia’s Test squad against Sri Lanka cricket team but could not make his debut.
Stoinis has been getting in and out of the limited-overs squads. This has also not helped in him getting a Test spot. He played close to 60 international games in the next 4 years, but was selected to play for the ‘Men in Yellow’ in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
He played 8 matches in the tournament, scored just 87 runs and picked 7 wickets. He was in the XI for the semi-finals against the eventual champions and home side, England.
A 23-year-old Marcus Stoinis was picked up by the Perth Scorchers for the Big Bash League 2012/13. He played just 3 matches in the season. He could manage only 10 runs in 2 innings and did not get a chance to bowl at all.
He moved to Melbourne Stars for the 2013/14 season. He made into the XI in 6 games and scored 69 runs picking up 2 wickets. He did not play in the 2014/15 edition.
In 2015, the Delhi Daredevils (now known as Delhi Capitals) became his first IPL franchise as they bought him in the auction. To his disappointment, he did not get to play a single game in the tournament.
He then had a good season with the Stars in BBL 2015/16. He played 10 matches and scored 169 runs. He also scored a half-century. He also played a major role in the bowling department. He was their third-highest wicket-taker in the season with 9 wickets to his name.
He earned a big cheque in the IPL in 2016, when he was bought for INR 5.5 million by the Kings XI Punjab. He scored 146 runs for them in 7 games including a half-century. He also contributed with the ball taking 8 wickets in 7 innings.
In BBL 2016/17, Stoinis once again could not grab eyeballs as he scored only 76 runs in 7 matches and picked 3 wickets.
His performance dipped yet again in IPL 2017, with only 17 runs and 2 wickets besides his name in 5 matches.
His batting performances were extremely crucial for the Stars in the 2017/18 season of the BBL. He scored 179 runs in just 5 matches with a highest score of 99. He maintained a strike rate of 144. He also picked up 5 wickets in as many innings.
However, Stoinis could not reflect the same form for Kings XI in IPL 2018, which became his last season for the franchise. He accumulated only 99 runs in 7 matches without scoring even 30 in a single innings. He wasn’t upto the mark with the ball either as he only took 3 wickets in the season.
Although, his good performances in the BBL continued in the 2018/19 season as well. With the new role of opening the innings, he ended up being the third-highest run-getter in the competition with 533 runs in 13 matches that included 4 half-centuries. He still managed to maintain a strike rate above 130. He also picked up 14 wickets in 11 innings that he bowled in.
Marcus Stoinis moved to the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2019 as a trade-off between the two teams. He was given ample opportunities in the season but could not cash onto them properly. He played in 10 games and scored 211 runs with a highest score of 46*. He also bowled in 6 innings picking up only 2 wickets.
