Young guns spearhead Scorchers evolution: BBL|15 preview

Emboldened by an evolution to their game plan and the return of Australian T20 captain Mitch Marsh for a full season, Perth Scorchers are gunning to take Big Bash finals back to 'Furnace' in KFC BBL|15.

With Marsh and New Zealand import Finn Allen set to form a destructive leadoff pairing at the top of the order, captain Ashton Turner has promised his side will put opposition attacks under "serious pressure" this season.

Englishman Laurie Evans is also back to strengthen the middle order after spending last season with Melbourne Renegades, with the league's most successful club seeking to return to the top after missing the finals for the first time in five years.

Their bowling attack may have lost more than 300 BBL wickets of experience with the exits of club legends Jason Behrendorff and Andrew Tye, but Turner insists there's still plenty to get excited about, like the emergence of young tearaway Mahli Beardman late last season.

"It's pretty rare that you get a guy added into Australian squads without a weight of performances behind them in domestic cricket, and history would probably suggest that those guys tend to turn out to be pretty good players," Turner said of Beardman.

BBL|15 club previews

Strikers | Heat | Hurricanes | Renegades

Stars | Scorchers | Sixers | Thunder

"He's got really similar skills to Jhye Richardson, who's just about been the best bowler in the competition for the last five years, so there's some exciting upside there."

Richardson is also back in the mix following a successful return from shoulder surgery over the past month, but he'll miss at least their season opener against Sydney Sixers as he spends time training with the Ashes squad in Adelaide.

Despite those two high-profile losses, there will still be a familiar feel to a new-look Scorchers pace attack with West Australian left-armer Joel Paris returning from the Melbourne Stars and state quicks Brody Couch and Bryce Jackson earning BBL contracts with the club.

"While there is continuity with the core group of players, we also have some exciting, fresh changes," Turner said.

"We're going to see some new faces get some exposure to Big Bash cricket, which is a great thing for Perth Scorchers and West Australian cricket.

"We've got some old familiar faces returning in Joel Paris – as has been documented a lot, our bowling attack is going to look really different.

"We've had some amazing servants of Western Australia and Perth Scorchers over a long period of time depart us. We're very appreciative for their time in orange but it's also exciting to turn the page and to see some younger guys get an opportunity.

"We're going to see some really exciting young talent on show.

"They're guys we've seen glimpses of before in the Big Bash but we're seeing a bit more of in domestic cricket.

"We've got some options – guys with ball speed, guys who have skills and guys who can swing the new ball. They probably aren't household names now but in five years may well be."

While there is continuity in the batting line up, Turner revealed the five-time BBL champions will take a fresh approach this season.

With Marsh lining up alongside Allen, followed by Cooper Connolly, Aaron Hardie, Turner and Evans, with Australian wicketkeeper Josh Inglis potentially returning later in the season, the Scorchers are stacked with big hitters.

"We've had a recipe that's been really successful for us for a long period of time," the skipper said.

"Other teams are evolving, the game itself is evolving, and we need to evolve with it.

"With that's come a change of strategy and philosophy about how we think we can play the best cricket.

"The ambition at the forefront of my mind for this season is to earn the right to host a home final because we know how well supported we are in Perth … (as well as) the competitive advantage of playing in Perth."

Last season

Result: Fifth

 

Most runs: Cooper Connolly (351)

 

Most wickets: Jason Behrendorff (17)

BBL|15 squad

Ashton Agar, Finn Allen, Mahli Beardman, Cooper Connolly, Brody Couch, Laurie Evans, Sam Fanning, Aaron Hardie, Nick Hobson, Josh Inglis, Bryce Jackson, Matthew Kelly, Mitch Marsh, Lance Morris, Joel Paris, David Payne, Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner. Replacement player: Joel Curtis

 

Ins: Brody Couch (Stars), Joel Paris (Stars), Bryce Jackson, Joel Curtis

 

Outs: Jason Behrendorff (Renegades), Matthew Spoors, Andrew Tye

 

Internationals: Finn Allen (New Zealand), Laurie Evans (England), David Payne (England)

 

Head coach: Adam Voges

Season schedule

Possible best XIs

Full strength: Mitch Marsh, Finn Allen, Josh Inglis (wk), Cooper Connolly, Ashton Turner (c), Laurie Evans, Aaron Hardie, Ashton Agar, Joel Paris, Jhye Richardson, Mahli Beardman

 

For the first game: Mitch Marsh, Finn Allen, Cooper Connolly, Aaron Hardie, Ashton Turner (c), Laurie Evans, Nick Hobson, Ashton Agar, Joel Paris, Brody Couch, Mahli Beardman

Player availability

Jhye Richardson will miss at least the Scorchers' first game of BBL|15 as he trains alongside the Test squad in Adelaide, while Josh Inglis may not feature until after the Ashes after earning a recall for the second Test at the Gabba.

Lance Morris is out for the season after undergoing back surgery, but Mitch Marsh is back after signing a fresh three-year deal and is "absolutely pumped" for a full season with the Scorchers.

Imports Finn Allen and Laurie Evans are also available for the full campaign plus finals, while left-arm quick David Payne is set to arrive halfway through the season after a stint in the UAE.

Overseas recruits

Finn Allen (New Zealand): The Kiwi top order blaster was the Scorchers' direct signing last year and returns for the second year of his contract in BBL|15. Allen hit his first ball in the Big Bash for six last seasons but didn't fully get going until late in the campaign, hitting two half-centuries in his 181 runs from 10 games.

The right-hander hasn't played at the top level since the Major League Cricket season in the United States in July when he hit 151 off 51 balls for San Francisco in the opening match of the tournament. Allen will start the season with the gloves for the Scorchers in the absence of Josh Inglis.

"Finn is going to be better for his exposure last season," Turner said. "There's a reason why we bent over backwards to sign him on a multi-year deal; he's a guy who adds great flexibility to our squad, (he can) keep wicket and he's good in the field.

"He gives us versatility and to partner with Mitch (Marsh) at the top of the order is going to be a really important part of the puzzle for us this year."

Laurie Evans (England): The Scorchers secured the return of Evans with pick 17 after he was poached by the Renegades in last year's draft. The English batter has previously played two seasons with the Scorchers and was player of the final in their BBL|11 triumph. The right-hander hit a club record 18-ball half-century in his last innings for Perth in BBL|13.

"We're elated to have him back as part of our squad," Turner said. "We've seen him perform in other parts of the world but there's something about him playing in Perth that brings out the best of him.

"We're going to see Laurie in a really familiar position for him in that middle order … and we've seen how damaging he can be, particularly towards the back end of the innings."

David Payne (England): The towering English left-arm quick was part of the Scorchers' BBL|12 triumph before he was nabbed by the Strikers at the draft for the following season. But after the departures of experienced quicks Jason Behrendorff and Andrew Tye, Perth got him back with pick 28 in June's overseas player draft. Payne, 34, has played 221 T20 matches, taking 283 wickets.

Inside word with Scorchers captain Ashton Turner

Mitch Marsh is back

Australia's T20 captain has played just one game for the Scorchers in the past three seasons due to international commitments over the past two summers and ankle surgery the season prior. But after losing his Test spot last summer, Marsh is set for an extended run with the Scorchers in BBL|15.

Marsh plundered 347 runs at 58 in his most recent campaign with the Scorchers prior to last year during their triumphant BBL|11 season, which included his first T20 century, an unbeaten 100 from 60 balls against Hobart Hurricanes.

"We're trying to utilise Mitch's skills as best as possible and clearly that's going to be having him open the batting for us," Turner said.

"At the moment, he's just got clarity over his role, and we see value in not disrupting that and allowing him to continue the role that he's been doing for Australia at the top of the order and also across the leagues that he's been playing in.

"As a cricket fan, there's few players I enjoy watching bat as much as I enjoy watching Mitch bat. So hopefully, with my pads waiting to bat, I'll spend some time watching him in orange this season."

Fresh approach in BBL|15

"The way that we're going to stack up is going to have a really exciting batting order – we're going to put some opposition bowlers under serious pressure." Turner said.

"It's also not reckless. We've got some highly skilled batters who are proven performers and guys who are going to be able to get big scores, so we're excited about our batting.

"The versatility of having someone like Aaron Hardie available gives us the option to play an extra batter, which allows us to have Ashton Agar down batting at eight and a finisher – a specialist batter in that role at seven – means we've got a lot of depth in our batting.

"Our bowling is going to look a little bit different to what it has done in years gone by but that doesn't mean it's any less exciting. With consistency over more or less the last 10 years also comes a bit of predictability and sides have known what to expect from us have been able to prepare accordingly.

"I think there's a little bit of unknown with our bowling attack. There's a few different options we could go with in the make-up of our bowling attack and we're going to see a change game-to-game dependent on conditions and availability."

Player to watch

Fresh off the back of a breakthrough year in international cricket when he earned a Baggy Green cap and guided Australia to victory with a nerveless 61 not out in the second ODI against India in Adelaide in October, allrounder Cooper Connolly is poised for another big BBL campaign after jointly claiming the player of the tournament award with Glenn Maxwell last season.

"Cooper is so versatile – he can open the batting, he can bat at seven, he can finish the innings. He can combat the swinging ball at the top, plays spin well, plays the quicks well," Turner said.

"It's a challenge because you almost find yourself just making him fit around the team, whereas a premier batter in this competition, you almost should be fitting the team around them and trying to give Cooper the best opportunity to play well.

"We want to win the Big Bash League, and that's our primary ambition, but we also want to allow guys to go on to achieve higher honors. Cooper's clearly one that's been identified … as someone who's going to play a lot of cricket for Australia, so how do we best utilise his skill set? For us this year, it's going to be a position that's really familiar to him and that'll be up towards the top of the order … probably three, maybe four, depending on the opposition and how the games are going."

Who will the Scorchers play in the Final?

"I think it's no accident we've got a really even competition and that's one of the great strengths of the Big Bash. If we look back to last season, Hobart clearly found a way to be really successful, and they've got some exciting cricketers," Turner said.

"As we've found out over a number of years, when you win titles, teams like to come after you and find ways to combat that. We'll be no different and no doubt Hobart will have some pressure on them to back up their performance from last season."