Scorchers skipper Ashton Turner admits Perth took a gamble with plans to “future proof” the team heading into the Big Bash League 15 season.
Opting for one full-time wicketkeeper in Josh Inglis and only one frontline spinner in Ashton Agar, it seemed disaster had struck for the BBL’s most successful franchise when the star duo were ruled out of repeat matches.
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Already without four-time champions Jason Behrendorff and Andrew Tye for the summer while injured Lance Morris took no part in the campaign, many experts wrote the Scorchers off.
But even without Inglis through his Australian squad commitments and Agar with injury, Perth have found a way to book themselves the home BBL final against the Sydney Sixers on Sunday.
Scorchers beat Sixers, move to BBL final | 03:12
And they’ve done it in entertaining fashion, by breaking the record for most 200+ scores in a single season (five) and with the most sixes (114) in a single season.
While the Scorchers will be aiming for a record sixth BBL crown – in what will be their ninth final appearance in just 15 seasons, the one constant through it all has been the skipper Turner.
Despite Australian T20 captain Mitch Marsh’s return to the Scorchers, it’s Turner who leads Perth’s BBL charge.
“He’s got an amazing cricketing brain … he’s obviously just a very calm, level-headed guy, but he reads the game so well, and he understands that people are going to make mistakes at certain times. And that’s all part and parcel of being a great leader of a team like this,” teammate Laurie Evans said of his captain.
On Sunday, Turner could make history as the only player to claim five Big Bash League crowns.
Already holding the record for most runs, most games and most non-keeper catches for the Scorchers, the man himself is adamant luck has played a part in his five finals appearances.
“I’m probably one of those players in the bracket where I’m good enough to warrant selection most games, but I’m also not playing international cricket and not getting dragged in other directions and I’m a middle order batter who bowls a couple of overs and I field in the ring so the physical demands on my body are less than the fast bowlers, other guys in our group, so I’ve missed less games with injuries,” he said.
“I’ve missed little bits throughout, but fundamentally … it’s probably not even 12 games I’ve missed.
“There’s been a lot of familiar faces around me as well. So, I think I’m one part of the puzzle, but there’s been a lot of continuity within our group over that period of time as well.
“Zooming out even further and across all domestic cricket, including one day domestic cricket, Sheffield Shield cricket, and clearly the Big Bash, it’s been a really rich part of West Australian cricket’s history … we’ve been able to play in and win so many flags over the last decade, give or take. And to be a part of that is really satisfying.
“As you get older, I guess my goals have changed, and I’ve probably shifted away from individual goals and more towards team success. I reflect really fondly on the opportunities that we’ve had to play finals and then subsequently the amount of trophies that we’ve actually been able to win.
“I’m closer to the end of my career than at the start, but I already get the sense that the reflections and the moments I’m going to cherish the most post-career are definitely the days like Sunday and the times when we’ve been able to lift trophies.”
The skipper, who will celebrate his 33rd birthday during the BBL final, believes the risks Perth took in building their squad have paid off – particularly with the emergence of young pace star Mahli Beardman and the development of reigning Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year Cooper Connolly with the ball.
“There’s no doubt that AJ (Tye) and Dorf (Behrendorff) were really big parts of the reason why we’ve been successful for a long period of time, but we also had an inkling that their time was going to be up at some point, and we were going to need to have contingencies and future proof this team,” he shared.
“We’ve seen that with guys like Mahli, Cooper, young guys bowling lots of overs for us, and it’s a challenge for us when we’re doing our list management, because we do it a long way out from the season.
“We’ve got eight fast bowlers on our list, because unfortunately history would suggest that we’re going to have injuries and we are going to have unavailabilities through international selection. We face these challenges every year.
“Probably one of the most satisfying parts of our success this season has been we knew coming into this season that we had some vulnerabilities. We had one full time wicket keeper in Josh Inglis, who’s been unavailable for big parts, and through Finn (Allen) and Laurie (Evans) and Joel Curtis, we’ve been able to almost seamlessly cover his absence at times.
“We came into the campaign with one frontline spinner in Ash Agar and he’s been unavailable for the last few games, but to have Cooper step into that frontline spinner role and probably exceed everyone’s expectations … those two gaps that we’ve been able to fill almost seamlessly are a big part of the reason as to why we’re playing on Sunday.”
The Perth Scorchers will host rivals the Sydney Sixers in the BBL15 final on Sunday, with first ball from 7.15pm AEDT.
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