They are unlikely to see much of Jhye Richardson but have signed Tymal Mills
Squad
Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Cooper Connolly (replacement), Laurie Evans (England), Aaron Hardie, Peter Hatzoglou, Nick Hobson (replacement) Josh Inglis, Matthew Kelly, Mitchell Marsh, Tymal Mills (England), David Moody (replacement), Lance Morris, Colin Munro (New Zealand), Kurtis Patterson, Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye
In Laurie Evans, Peter Hatzoglou (Renegades), Lance Morris (Stars), Tymal Mills
Out Joe Clarke (Stars), Fawad Ahmed (Strikers), Cameron Gannon, Cameron Green, Liam Livingstone, Joel Paris (Hurricanes), Jason Roy, Sam Whiteman,
Last season Runner-up
After a couple of seasons in the wilderness, the BBL’s most successful franchise stormed back into title contention with a gutsy effort where their trademark fight returned. Scorchers weathered a horror start and were only able to play four home games due to Western Australia’s strict border controls. They impressively rallied against the odds to claim second spot with a formula reminiscent of their heyday under coach Justin Langer. The Scorchers, however, were thwarted twice by Sydney Sixers in the business end and went down to their old rivals by 27 runs in the decider at the SCG.
Scorchers’ depth – a key staple during their glory years – will be tested at the start of the season with stars Jhye Richardson, Ashton Agar, Josh Inglis and T20 World Cup final hero Mitchell Marsh part of Australia’s Ashes and A squads. Inglis was overlooked as Tim Paine’s replacement so should be available for most of the season barring injury to Alex Carey
Without dynamic English pair Jason Roy and Liam Livingstone, Colin Munro will be relied upon even more so than last year when he starred in his Scorchers debut with a team-leading 443 runs at a strike rate of 128.03. His pyrotechnics helped fuel several massive totals for the Scorchers during their memorable late season surge. Munro, 34, will be hungry for runs with having a point to prove after contentiously being left out of New Zealand’s T20 World Cup team, which may have ended his international career. That raises the likely prospect he’ll be available for the entirety of the Scorchers’ campaign, where Munro will shoulder a heavy burden early with Inglis and Marsh absent.
Key stat
Pace bowling has always been their strength and last season was no different. In the mandatory powerplay, the duo of Richardson and Jason Beherendoff took 18 wickets. Scorchers took 19 wickets and averaged 24.73 in the first four overs – the best in the competition.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth