Melbourne Stars all-rounder James Faulkner has backed his side to bounce back quickly from their emphatic opening-round BBL loss to the Adelaide Strikers.

The Stars were powerless to stop a barnstorming run chase by Adelaide, led by a record-breaking innings from Tim Ludeman, but Faulkner said he and his teammates had quickly moved on from the eight-wicket defeat.

Star import Kevin Pietersen (66 from 46 balls) was the standout batsman for Melbourne, who host the Hobart Hurricanes at the MCG on Saturday night.

The outspoken former England batsman lived up to the hype that accompanied his heralded arrival for this year’s Big Bash League and Faulkner backed him to be a key figure throughout Melbourne’s campaign.

“He started with a bang and hopefully he can continue that form throughout the tournament,” Faulkner said from the MCG on Thursday.

“He played all the different shots and took the bowlers on so hopefully he can continue to do that.”

The Stars have made one change to their side ahead of Saturday’s clash, with all-rounder Alex Keath replacing Clive Rose.

The Hurricanes inflicted the Stars’ first defeat of last year’s Big Bash series when they knocked them out of the competition at the semi-final stage.

Hobart skipper George Bailey is bullish about his side’s chances this season after falling to the Perth Scorchers in last season’s final.

“This year we’ve got the most depth we’ve ever had in a squad,” Bailey said.

“It was really hard to sit down and pick the 11 whereas in other years we’ve probably had the bare minimum.”