No place like home for Voges' recruits

New Perth Scorchers coach Adam Voges has vowed to maintain the club's unique and highly-effective strategy of sourcing their playing list almost entirely from within Western Australia's own borders.

In what is its biggest shake-up in years, the KFC Big Bash League's most successful club will be led by someone other than Justin Langer for the first time since BBL|01 after he was handed the reins to Australia's national men's side earlier this year.

Voges has some sizeable shoes to fill; the Scorchers brought home three titles with Langer at the helm, while the side has never finished below third through seven completed seasons.

Their success has been founded on a distinct recruiting policy.

An overseas player or two aside, the Scorchers playing squad has almost entirely been made up of players who are contracted with WA's state team. In turn, few local Western Australians have signed on with rival clubs in recent years.

It's an approach Voges, who played in all three of Perth's BBL title-winning teams and captained two of them, has no intention of overhauling.

"It's something that's worked pretty well," the 38-year-old, who has also taken on the WA Warriors coaching job, told cricket.com.au. "It's been our point of difference.

"That's something that 'JL' (Langer) has been able to build during his time in charge. Hopefully it's something that I can continue. As our list continues to evolve, we'll see how that plays out.

"Being isolated over here, it's a little easier that sometimes people don't necessarily come here and people don't necessarily want to leave either.

"Keeping everyone together is not an easy job but if you keep providing a good environment and the guys enjoying here and you have some success along the way then hopefully makes it that little bit easier."

The Scorchers' approach stands in stark contrast to the rest of the competition.

Take for instance, the Melbourne Renegades, who last season featured just nine current or past Victoria-listed players on their 19-player senior squad. Or the fact the Adelaide Strikers' superb bowling attack that helped deliver the city a maiden BBL title last summer didn't boast a single South Australian.

It's not to say those sides don't nurture notable local talent; homegrown Redbacks Travis Head and Alex Carey were also integral to the Strikers' success, while Bushrangers veterans Aaron Finch and Cameron White remain key Renegades players. But those examples illustrate the fact each of the seven non-Perth clubs rely on – and benefit from – interstate players.

An increased separation between state and BBL programs has also played a role. In the T20 league's first season back in 2011-12, five of the six state coaches also headed up Big Bash teams. Last season, just two did; Langer at WA and the Scorchers, and Andrew McDonald with Victoria and the Renegades.

But at least one BBL club has taken note of the Scorchers' approach in recent times.

Hobart Hurricanes last month replaced outgoing coach Gary Kirsten with former Langer disciple Adam Griffith, who had been appointed to the Tasmania state job a year earlier, in something of a nod to the BBL's standout side.

"The upside is obvious," Cricket Tasmania chief executive Nick Cummins said after Griffith was handed the Hurricanes job. "The Perth Scorchers and the Western Warriors have shown emphatically that one-program approach can deliver good results."

Voges explains that replicating the Scorchers' model is not only dependent on geography and loyalty, but also on the strength of a club's playing group.

"Other teams are starting to head down that track as well … (but) it's not an easy thing to do," he continued.

"It'd be a bit more of a challenge at a Sydney or a Melbourne club, having to split their talent.

"It's the way that we've gone about it and we've had some good success so I can understand why people would want to try to do something similar. We've got a good crop of players that have allowed us to be able to do that."

That crop was boosted this week by the re-signing of English allrounder David Willey but his return for a fourth straight season will be offset by the departure of Mitchell Johnson, who will instead play in a UAE T20 league.

Finding a second overseas player to fit in to their stable squad is high on Voges' to-do list.

But the former Test middle-order batsman concedes the club does not have the salary cap muscle to reel in AB de Villiers, who appears increasingly unlikely to feature in this summer's BBL.

"Realistically, we can't afford him," Voges admitted. "As much as you like to have someone of that calibre in your squad, from a salary cap point of view, it's not realistic – not this year anyway."