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Preview: Bowling returns, star imports boost Scorchers

The returns of Jason Behrendorff and Andrew Tye and a top order stacked with international talent have the Scorchers confident of a productive season

BBL|09 result: Sixth

BBL|10 Squad: Ashton Agar, Fawad Ahmed, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Joe Clarke (ENG), Cameron Gannon, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kelly, Liam Livingstone (ENG), Mitchell Marsh (c), Colin Munro (NZ), Joel Paris, Kurtis Patterson, Jhye Richardson, Jason Roy (ENG), Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Sam Whiteman

Ins: Jason Roy, Colin Munro, Joe Clarke, Cameron Gannon (Heat)

Perth punish sluggish Thunder with whirlwind opening stand

Outs: Chris Jordan, Nick Hobson. Morne Morkel (Heat), Liam Guthrie, Jaron Morgan, Tim David (Hurricanes)

Possible Best XI: Jason Roy, Liam Livingstone, Josh Inglis (wk), Colin Munro, Mitch Marsh (c), Ashton Turner, Ashton Agar, Jhye Richardson, Jason Behrendorff, Andrew Tye, Fawad Ahmed

Possible Best XI for first game: Joe Clarke, Josh Inglis (wk), Colin Munro, Mitch Marsh (c), Ashton Turner, Cameron Bancroft, Aaron Hardie, Jhye Richardson, Jason Behrendorff, Andrew Tye, Fawad Ahmed

The inside word with coach Adam Voges

The off-season

"We stayed in Adelaide a couple of extra days (after the Marsh Sheffield Shield hub) to wait until the State borders opened, thought we were pretty clever, and came home on the 14th, the Saturday. Then the cluster in Adelaide obviously happened and by Sunday night we were in home quarantine for 14 days. It was certainly better than a hotel quarantine but outside of leaving to get COVID tested, we didn't leave the house for two weeks.

"It will have its good and bad points, but for me, personally, it was brilliant. I got plenty of work done and got to spend some time at home with the family. But two weeks of inactivity for the players probably wasn't ideal, and time will tell if a mid-season break was a good thing or not.

"We got out last Sunday (November 29) and played Premier Cricket that day, had a couple of training sessions and intra-squad game at the WACA on Thursday night and again over the weekend.

"There was some really promising signs there, particularly from the bowling group, from Jhye Richardson and Jason Behrendorff in particular. I haven't seen them for a while but on their return from injury they both went really, really well. Ashton Turner got 41 off 16, Aaron Hardie a 40-odd as well. There was a bit happening early in the first game, it was 2-20 after one over!

"We don't play our first BBL|10 game until the 12th so we get into Hobart on the 9th. We'll meet Fawad Ahmed, Kurtis Patterson and Colin Munro over there, but everyone else is based in Perth so we've got the majority of our players here. After being away for a long time, and a long Big Bash season to come, the more nights in your own beds, we'll take that."

Player availability

"We're hopeful Mitch Marsh will be available for round one but it may be round two or three and it will certainly only be as a batter to begin with. We'll build his bowling as the tournament goes and we hope by the back end of the season he's able to offer us something with the ball as well. He's ticking off the bits he needs to, but we've got some time, and we'll keep pushing him over the next week to try and get him up for that first game.

"We didn't anticipate to have Ashton Agar for our first game anyway given he was in the Australia A squad, but we'll know more about his availability after we get updated on his (injury) status.

Ashton Agar's stunning hat-trick against South Africa

"It was awesome to see Cameron Green make his ODI debut and with him being part of the Test squad it means we won't see him until late January. Hopefully he can add a Baggy Green before we see him again with the Scorchers.

"Our England internationals Jason Roy and Liam Livingstone are both over in South Africa at the moment and are due to get out of their hotel quarantine here on Boxing Day. Whether they're available for our game on the 28th, that might be a bit tight considering they'll have done two weeks hotel quarantine, so we imagine either the 28th or 31st will be their first game.

"Joe Clarke got out of hotel quarantine here in Perth on Saturday morning, and played some Premier Cricket on the weekend. It's great to have him as cover for the other guys until they arrive. Colin Munro is playing domestic cricket for Auckland at the moment and will meet us over in Hobart next week. We're really pleased to have him available for the whole tournament.

"We're happy to go with those two internationals for our first three or four games. We think we've got enough depth with our local guys to be able to cover that.

"And, touch wood, that's it. We've got some guys coming back from longer-term injuries but I was excited to see what Jhye produced in our intra-squad games. It looked like he just picked up right from where he left off and Behrendorff got through really well and it's exciting the way he's been bowling."

Imports

"It's terrific that Liam Livingstone has agreed to join us again for BBL|10, he made a great impression last season finishing as one of the competition’s leading run scorers. He fitted in very well with our group and along with his handy leg-spin and energetic fielding, he brings a wealth of talent to the team.

Livingstone launches series of long bombs at Optus

"Colin Munro has a naturally aggressive instinct with the bat and his ability to take the game away from the opposition quickly. That will make him an extremely important impact player for us this summer. We expect to use him in the top order.

"Joe Clarke has performed really well in T20 cricket recently and we’re excited about what he can bring to the Scorchers. He's a top order player, and we'll use him as an opener in the early part of the season before the arrival of Jason Roy, who is a world-class performer who will bring added power and experience to our top order. He's a great competitor."

The travel (or lack of it!)

"It'll be as good as we ever get it. Certainly, it's an improvement on the last couple of years where we were flying across the country ever two or three days. To be in hubs, to be playing multiple games in the one venue at a time and drastically reducing our travel … hopefully it's a help for us but it will certainly be a lot better than our travel schedule the last few years.

"And it will be brilliant for everyone to get home for that block in Perth in early to mid-January. Our fans and members are cricket-starved at the moment so to get some live cricket into Perth will be really great. We'll be as close to full strength as we possibly can be by that stage of the tournament so hopefully we're up and about. It should be a great atmosphere at Optus.

Your take on the new rules?

"From a coaching perspective, you've just got to find a way to use them to your advantage. We trialled them in our intra-squad games – not the X-factor, but we tracked the scores at the 10-over mark and we used the split Powerplay – but everyone is learning on the run at the moment. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. Not having any time to trial it really means we're all doing this on the fly a little bit. I imagine the tactics will evolve as the game goes on, but whether they better the game or make the game more exciting, we'll have to hold judgement until we get through a season.

"Teams will want momentum, a bit of a partnership established before they call the split Powerplay, and it will probably vary from game to game, depending on the match situation. I will certainly put the trust in the guys out there in the middle to make that call. The only thing I'd like to see is us having a bit of momentum in a partnership leading into calling it.

"My initial thoughts are we may not use the X-factor sub a lot. I don't see too many times where your best XI isn't still your best XI after 10 overs. But there may be situations through injury or someone's having an off day with the ball that you may look to do it. But when you're going into the game with a balanced team, you hope you can adapt to every situation and scenario the game throws at you."

Players to watch

"It was a breakout season last year from Josh Inglis and he formed a great partnership up the top with Liam Livingstone. He really did a great job, played spin really well, and has taken that form over to Shield cricket at the beginning of this summer. So he goes in full of confidence and will form a really integral part of our top order. I know there's a lot of talk about our overseas signings but I think Josh is going to be equally as important as the guys we're bringing in to helping us get off to some good starts. He's going to be key.

Inglis injects drive to Perth innings with powerful fifty

"He's got the attributes to push for Australian selection in all forms. He's still got a way to go at the moment, but if he continues to consistently put in good performances like he has done, he'll continue to push and put some pressure on there. But in the meantime, if he can continue to help us win a few games along the way, that's great too.

"This season is a great opportunity for Ashton Turner. He really relishes T20 cricket, he's had some great success in the past, he's a former Simon Katich Medallist for the Scorchers, he's one of our most experienced players in terms of games played and provides us with some really important leadership on the field along with Mitch. I know he's really looking forward to it. He had a tough time of Shield cricket in Adelaide but with the switch of format to one he really enjoys, we're hopeful he can bring that form he produced a couple of seasons ago.

In-form Turner goes big for Scorchers

"He'll captain if Mitch doesn't come up for any games, and he's back bowling as well, so can provide us with a few handy overs, certainly with Ashton Agar unavailable to start the tournament. His bowling's improved a lot recently – he hadn't been able to bowl for at least 18 months, maybe longer, due to his shoulder surgeries. So he's finally been able to get a bit of continuity and consistency into his bowling so I'm sure he'll benefit form that."

Biggest threat or challenge

"The challenge of hub life will be there for every team in the BBL and I think we all appreciate that we need to do what we have to for the competition to run smoothly. There will be some challenges along the way off the field with that, I've got no doubt. But on the field, the beauty of the Big Bash is every team is really strong so if you have an off day, you lose. The Stars and Sixers were the finalists last year so they're the ones everyone is chasing, but we're looking forward to the challenge."