Gear shift bears fruits for transformed Scorchers

On paper, the Perth Scorchers batting line up in KFC BBL|15 reads much like it has in recent seasons.

West Australians Cooper Connolly, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Ashton Turner and Nick Hobson are all there, as is Englishman Laurie Evans after a brief stint with the Renegades.

New Zealand’s Finn Allen returned for a second season, and if coach Adam Voges has his way, he’ll be back for a third later this year.

Australian T20 captain Mitch Marsh is the obvious big inclusion for his first full Big Bash season since BBL|11, but he too has been a regular fixture at the Scorchers since the competition’s beginnings 15 years ago.

Amid all the changes to their bowling attack during the off-season as the experience of more than 300 Big Bash wickets departed the club (Andrew Tye and Jason Behrendorff), it was this batting “continuity” that Scorchers captain Turner pointed to before the tournament as one of their biggest strengths.

So, what’s changed this season that’s seen Perth produce scoring rates – and entertainment levels – unmatched in Big Bash history?

The answer lies in embracing the evolution of Australian T20 batting in recent years, with the emboldened Scorchers living up to Turner’s pre-tournament prophecy to put “opposition bowlers under serious pressure” in BBL|15.

Like the national T20 side have done in boosting their team strike rate from mid-130s in 2022 to 154 over the past three years, the Scorchers have followed suit.

Led by opening pair Marsh, an Aussie mainstay, and Kiwi blaster Allen – two of the most destructive batters in world cricket with T20 career strike rates of 138 and 175 respectively – no team in the competition’s history have scored as freely as the Scorchers have this season.

Their combined team strike rate of 158.6 is the highest in a single campaign, eclipsing Hobart Hurricanes’ (145.3) championship side from last season, who held the benchmark before this summer.

The Scorchers’ batters have scored 64.3 per cent of their runs from boundaries in BBL|15, also the best rate of any team in a single season in BBL history and almost 10 percentage points more than their next best (56.3 per cent in BBL|10).

Understandably, they’ve also hit boundaries more frequently (once every 4.8 balls faced) than any other team in a single season, again topping the defending champions’ efforts in BBL|14 (5.2).

It’s seen Voges’ side immediately bounce back from missing the finals for just the third time 12 months ago to reach the season-decider for the ninth time in the competition’s 15-year history.

“Internally, we had a lot of belief in the squad that we’ve been able to put together,” the coach said ahead of Sunday’s BBL|15 Final at Optus Stadium.

“Albeit we lost some experience from last year, we were still able to bring some really good talent into the squad.

“And there’s been a little bit of a shift in terms of game plan and the way that we’ve gone about it. The boys have embraced that incredibly well and we’ve been able to see the results from that.”

When you pair Marsh with Allen at the top, there’s undoubtedly going to be fireworks.

But their method has filtered down too.

Hardie (147.13), Connolly (139.45) and Turner (139.45) – their WA domestic core – are all striking at BBL career-best rates for seasons in which they’ve scored more than 50 runs.

Marsh but particularly Allen’s assault against the new ball has been brutal. His 37 sixes are already the most by an individual in a single Big Bash season, again surpassing Hobart opener Mitch Owen’s mark of 36 from BBL|14.

It’s helped the Scorchers produce their fastest Powerplay batting ever in BBL|15, striking at 145, and their highest combined average (36.60) in the first four overs of an innings since BBL|10 (44.83), when they finished runners-up to the Sixers.

Since that 2020-21 season, with the likes of Cameron Bancroft, Kurtis Patterson, Stephen Eskinazi and even England’s Zak Crawley up top, the Scorchers’ approach had been to build steadily before exploding late.

That’s not to say that modus operandi wasn’t successful either, with the titles that Patterson (BBL|11) and Bancroft and Eskinazi (both BBL|12) were part of, testament to that.

But this season the foot has been on the gas from the outset and the brakes rarely applied, highlighted by Perth posting five 200-plus totals – which, you guessed it, is the most by a team in a single BBL campaign.

Ironically, given the intimidation factor for opposing teams travelling to ‘The Furnace’, each of those 200-plus totals have come away from home, with the average score batting first at Optus Stadium this season only 141.

Regardless, the Scorchers have still won four of their six home games in BBL|15.

“I guess that’s what a home ground advantage is,” Voges said, “you get more opportunity and more experience to be able to navigate those conditions.

“The guys continue to learn, and Finn was outstanding again (against the Sixers), I think he’s picked it up as well as anyone (how to play at Optus Stadium this season).”

Allen has indeed been the standout in BBL|15 with his 430 runs behind only David Warner’s 433, and they’ve come at an incredible strike rate of 186. Allen’s 185 runs scored at Optus Stadium this season are also 50 more than the next best (Hardie – 133).

Voges, who credited wicketkeeper Josh Inglis with planting the seed to get the 26-year-old to the club last season on a two-year deal after they played together in America, said Allen’s experiences in his first Big Bash campaign, where he managed 181 runs at 18, had helped him reap the rewards in BBL|15.

“Josh was really bullish on what Finn could do and what he thought he could bring to the Scorchers,” Voges recalled.

“We’ve certainly seen that over the last couple of years. He’s been ultra-aggressive, highly attacking and we’ve been able to put some opposition bowling attacks under real pressure early thanks to what he’s been able to do.

“We’ve found that over our history, our overseas players have generally been better the second time around.

“It’s quite unique the conditions at Optus Stadium and it takes a little while to navigate them.

“Finn, to his credit, has come back, I think, a more complete, more mature and better player than where he was 12 months ago and we’ve seen the fruits of that.

“Not only has he been brutal and dominant on the east coast, but he’s also starting to navigate Optus Stadium as well and it’s been great to see … and the combination with Mitch this season has been terrific.”

Allen has quipped regularly that his biggest hits this season were down to his “good bats”, which topped out at 104m during his century at Marvel Stadium and included a 101m one-handed strike against the Heat at the Gabba.

But he added the relaxed influence of Marsh alongside him had also been a factor in his scintillating form.

“He really backs himself in his prep and he doesn’t stray away from that, regardless of his on field runs and I really respect that,” Allen said of Marsh.

“That’s what’s kept him in good stead over his career and that’s something that I’ll definitely take going forward.”

If it wasn’t already evident in his on-field success this season, Allen says he’s enjoyed his time with Perth, which could lead to more of the same in BBL|16 for Scorchers fans if the club is able to re-sign him during the off-season.

“I love it here,” he said ahead of the BBL|15 Final. “It makes me a better cricketer playing here.

“I think if you can learn to score runs at Optus Stadium, you can probably score runs anywhere. It’s definitely difficult, so it’s definitely made my game a whole lot better over the last two years.

“I feel really clear on my game plan and how I’m trying to go about my innings, which is a nice place to be in.

“I’ve probably figured out a bit more of a method (compared) to last season and I feel more at home for sure.”

And should he deliver again on Sunday night to help the club to an unprecedented sixth BBL title, they might just give him the keys to the city.

BBL|15 finals schedule

Qualifier: Perth Scorchers beat Sydney Sixers by 48 runs

Knockout: Hobart Hurricanes beat Melbourne Stars by three runs (DLS method)

Challenger: Sydney Sixers beat Hobart Hurricanes by 57 runs

Final: Perth Scorchers v Sydney Sixers, Optus Stadium (Sunday, January 25, 7.15pm AEDT)

*A reserve day on Monday, January 26 (7.15pm AEDT) is available for the Final

KFC BBL|15 standings