BBL Supercoach squad preview | Perth Scorchers

Masters of the format, the Perth Scorchers once again start their Big Bash campaign with high expectations.



They’ve claimed BBL glory on five different occasions and finished runner-up three times.



BBL14 saw a rare down campaign, missing the finals for the first time since BBL09.



For the most part their roster has stayed the same, however it’ll be a relatively new-look pace attack that’ll be of great interest early on.



Stalwarts Lance Morris (injured), Jason Behrendorff (Renegades) and AJ Tye (unsigned) won’t feature this season, presenting opportunities to Matt Kelly and Mahli Beardman.



Englishman David Payne will also join the squad later in the tournament.



Let’s take a look at their Supercoach BBL prospects to begin the tournament.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FIXTURES</h2>



The Scorchers fixtures are intriguing and make them far more relevant than first meets the eye.



They have the one double game week which doesn’t come until round 4, while they have no byes.



While this would suggest they’re somewhat of an avoid early, a deeper dive tells a different story.



They play in the first game of round 1 and round 2, then the second game of round 3.



This makes their contingent excellent bench players to utilise auto-emergency loopholing with.



Stick the AE on them, if they fail early in the round you leave them there and if they fire you can activate the player into your starting team via the loop.



For this reason, I think there’s plenty of merit in starting with one or two value options.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">GUNS</h2>



Cooper Connolly II BAT-BWL II $188,400 II SC BBL14 Ave: 71.5



Connolly exploded over the past 12 months that saw him awarded with international honours across multiple formats.



His BBL14 campaign saw him finish third overall on the run-scoring charts with 351 runs at an average of 50.14 and a strike-rate of 131.46.



He also took six wickets at an economy of 7.41.



He’ll be a near must for round 4 provided the role with the ball and batting form is thereabouts, but he’s too expensive to start with for me due to no early doubles.



Verdict: Avoid until round 4



Jhye Richardson II BWL II $144,000 II SC BBL14 Ave: 54.6



Richo is one of the best to grace Supercoach BBL with a 54+ average in six of his past seven seasons, with a top of 79.7 points in BBL12.



Unfortunately he’s had a horrid run of injuries in recent years, so starting him in hope of some big scores prior to the double is fraught with danger.



Avoid early, an absolute must for the double.



Verdict: Avoid until round 4



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">MID-RANGERS</h2>



Mitch Marsh II BAT-BWL II $117,500 II SC BBL14 Ave: &#8211;



Verdict: Test commitments and injuries have kept Marsh away from the Big Bash arena in recent years, but he’s expected to feature for the entire tournament.



Scroll back to BBL11 where he averaged a mammoth 106.2 points per game across his six games.



He comes into the tournament in elite form for Australia’s white ball squad which included a knock of 103* (52) against New Zealand in October.



Whether or not he bowls remains to be seen.



If he were to feature with the ball he’d be a must for round 1 at a bargain price of $117k, while I wouldn’t begrudge anyone starting him regardless.



Verdict: Potential starter



Josh Inglis II WKP-BAT II $102,800 II SC BBL14 Ave: 39.0



Inglis is in the Australian Test squad making his availability for the Scorchers uncertain at different stages.



Despite the obvious upside, I’m happy to wait until round 4 and start with wicket-keepers on the double game week.



Verdict: Avoid



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">CHEAPIES</h2>



Finn Allen II WKP-BAT II $85,300 II SC BBL14 Ave: 32.4



Allen never quite hit his straps last season, but the international pedigree suggests there’s more to come in his second BBL season.



In 52 T20 internationals for the Black Caps he averages 25.19 with an explosive strike-rate of 163.27.



If he can find his best form in the BBL he’ll be an early steal with immense upside.



I’ll be happy to lock in double game week wicket-keepers early, but he is a high-risk, high-reward option for anyone daring enough.



Verdict: Avoid



Aaron Hardie II BAT-BWL II $74,800 II SC BBL14 Ave: 28.4



Hardie looks a near must for me to begin the season, he ticks just about every key box.



Fallen gun, dual position, key role with bat and ball, cheap, gun fixtures…



Hardie struggled for form last season, averaging just 28.4 Supercoach points.



In the two seasons prior though he averaged 60.2 and 57.5.



With major movement in the bowling ranks he may feature more regularly this season as he has done of late for the Australian ODI and T20 outfits.



Verdict: Buy



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Mahli Beardman II BWL II $85,300 II SC BBL14 Ave: 64.7



Matt Kelly II BWL II $81,100 II SC BBL14 Ave: 30.8



It’ll be a big pre-season watch on the Scorchers team and how they roll out their bowling attack.



It’s likely both Beardman and Kelly start making them viable round 1 options in prep for the round 4 double.



Whoever looks the more assured of a role will likely be in my team.



There is the risk of David Payne’s return from the ILT tournament potentially around the double, but hopefully neither player is hampered.



Verdict: Likely start one of the two, leaning towards Beardmen



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Perth Scorchers Predicted XI </h2>



Analysis via Maxy Bryden



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td></td><td>Starting XI</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>Finn Allen II WKP-BAT II $85,300 II SC BBL14 Ave: 32.4</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Mitch Marsh II BAT-BWL II $117,500 II SC BBL14 Ave: &#8211;</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Cooper Connolly II BAT-BWL II $188,400 II SC BBL14 Ave: 71.5</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Josh Inglis II WKP-BAT II $102,800 II SC BBL14 Ave: 39.0</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Ashton Turner II BAT II $105,700 II SC BBL14 Ave: 40.1</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Aaron Hardie II BAT-BWL II $74,800 II SC BBL14 Ave: 28.4</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Laurie Evans II BAT II $81,700 II SC BBL14 Ave: 31.0</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>Ashton Agar II BWL II $137,900 II SC BBL14 Ave: 52.3</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Mahli Beardman II BWL II $85,300 II SC BBL14 Ave: 64.7</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>Jhye Richardson II BWL II $144,000 II SC BBL14 Ave: 54.6</td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>Matt Kelly II BWL II $81,100 II SC BBL14 Ave: 30.8</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Reserves</td></tr><tr><td>12</td><td>David Payne</td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td>Sam Fanning</td></tr><tr><td>14</td><td>Liam Haskett</td></tr><tr><td>15</td><td>Joel Paris</td></tr><tr><td>16</td><td>Nick Hobson</td></tr><tr><td>17</td><td>Brody Crouch</td></tr><tr><td>18</td><td>Bryce Jackson</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



Mitch Marsh’s availability for the whole season is a coup. Although if he does end up in an Ashes squad (for the record, I don’t think he should), the order could be thrown into chaos.



Don’t expect Bison the allrounder – he barely bowls these days and they’ve got better options – but quite simply, he is way too good for this tournament and should be the favourite to be the leading run scorer.



Beneath the openers, the exact order is hard to pin down and may depend on the availability of&nbsp;Josh Inglis.



Inglis&nbsp;could be unavailable if selected in the Test squad, with local keeper options&nbsp;Joel Curtis&nbsp;or&nbsp;Baxter Holt&nbsp;no doubt on standby. Both are unsigned but would be an instant Local Replacement Player (LRP) option as required.



Between Cooper Connolly and Aaron Hardie they’ve got two incredible all-rounders who can share the 5th bowler duties.



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One of them likely bats at 3, whilst the other could slide to 6 or 7, depending on the&nbsp;Inglis&nbsp;situation.



The turnover in the fast bowling ranks is where there’s intrigue for me for Supercoach.



Jhye Richardson’s fitness is always a key figure in their success, and&nbsp;Lance Morris’ season-ending stress fractures and the defection of&nbsp;Jason Behrendorff&nbsp;means that there are overs available in the attack.&nbsp;



AJ Tye&nbsp;also is also unsigned and the squad is now full… father-time may have finally caught up.



David Payne&nbsp;is back after a stint at the Strikers, but won’t be available until after his ILT20 commitments finish.&nbsp;



So who do they have available?



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Joel Paris&nbsp;returns after stints with Hobart and the Stars and is as good as any bowler in the country on his day – but trusting his body has proven troublesome throughout his career.



Matt Kelly&nbsp;could bowl death, having previously starred in that role some summers ago.



Youngsters&nbsp;Mahli Beardman&nbsp;and&nbsp;Liam Haskett&nbsp;are the wildcards in the bowling lineup, and if defending big totals from their all-star batting lineup could be in the wickets.&nbsp;Bryce Jackson&nbsp;and&nbsp;Brody Couch&nbsp;are in the same category.



Kelly&nbsp;aside, there’s a huge swing in experience in the options they’ve got, and it screams to me that&nbsp;Connolly&nbsp;and&nbsp;Hardie&nbsp;could both be bowling a lot.



In all it’s a stacked batting card with two genuine all-rounders, and whoever bowls the death overs will become a very hot commodity.

BBL Supercoach squad preview | Perth Scorchers

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