BBL|16 isn’t far away and squads are getting firmed up, so Honeyball is going club by club to analyse ins/outs, key intel and predicted line-ups for the season start.
Contracted squad (15)
Batsmen: Ashton Turner, Zak Crawley (ENG), Mitch Marsh
All-rounders: Cooper Connolly, Aaron Hardie, Will Malajczuk
Wicketkeepers: Joel Curtis, Aneurin Donald (ENG)
Bowlers: Ashton Agar, Mahli Beardman, Brody Couch, Calvin Harrison (ENG), Lance Morris, Joel Paris, Jhye Richardson
Changes
Ins: Calvin Harrison (England), Will Malajczuk, Zak Crawley (England), Aneurin Donald (England)
Outs: Matthew Kelly (retired), Finn Allen (Stars), Nick Hobson (Hurricanes), Corey Rocchiccioli (Sixers), Laurie Evans, David Payne
TBC: Josh Inglis, Sam Fanning, Luke Holt, Bryce Jackson
Key Intel
English top-order batter Aneurin Donald comes to the Scorchers fresh from leading Trent Rockets to The Hundred final and making his England T20I debut. He had a strike rate of 215+ in The Hundred, including blasting 38 off 19 in the decider at first drop. Donald can also take the gloves.
Perth Scorchers General Manager Kade Harvey said: “He showed enormous potential during his time with Trent Rockets during The Hundred and then again for England in the subsequent T20 series against Sri Lanka. I’m sure our Members and fans will enjoy watching Aneurin’s aggressive style of batting on full display at The Furnace this season.”
England international opening bat Zak Crawley returns to Perth after playing 6 games in orange in BBL13, shoring up their top-order options. Harvey said: “Our top order was critical to our success in BBL|15 and it’s exciting to add Zak into the mix alongside the likes of Mitch Marsh, Cooper Connolly and Aaron Hardie for the upcoming season.”
English wrist spinner Calvin Harrison is another addition from Trent Rockets where coach Adam Voges was an assistant this year. Harrison took 10 wickets at 19.7 in The Hundred and featured in Northamptonshire’s title-winning T20 Blast side, taking 22 wickets at 15.27. He is uncapped internationally but played for England Lions this year.
Harvey said: “Calvin adds another dimension to our bowling group, which performed brilliantly during BBL|15.” He is also handy with the bat, posting 3 first-class centuries in his career.
Young WA all-rounder Will Malajczuk is the other addition, and while he is a long-term prospect, he does loom as a contender to play in BBL|16. He scored the fastest century in an ICC Men’s U19 World Cup game in January and debuted for WA at one-day level this year too.
Harvey said: “Will is an exciting talent that we are confident can contribute to the side with both bat and ball. He adds another spin option from a bowling perspective, while he has also shown he’s able to bat in a range of positions in the top and middle order depending on the match situation.”
Further Info
The Scorchers have lost some key players from last season’s title-winning side, including Player of the Final David Payne, along with opening bat Finn Allen. Trusted finisher Nick Hobson has moved to Hobart and Laurie Evans has been let go albeit after an underwhelming campaign. Josh Inglis is yet to re-sign, although he could spend most of the summer with the Test team anyway, along with Cooper Connolly, impacting Perth’s recruitment plans.
Speedster Lance Morris missed all of BBL|15 and is working his way back from a pre-season side strain with a view to being available for this BBL campaign which would be a massive boost. Joel Paris recently suffered a hamstring tendon injury that will put him out until December while Aaron Hardie picked up a minor shoulder muscle strain.
Predicted Line-up
The availability of Cooper Connolly, along with the uncontracted Josh Inglis, related to the Test side will impact this line-up. If Inglis is out, Aneurin Donald or Joel Curtis takes the gloves. However, if Connolly is unavailable, there’s a raft of ways Perth may go, causing ripple effects everywhere throughout the side.
With an opening game in Chennai in India, expect both spinners Ashton Agar and Calvin Harrison to play. Neither are safe back at Optus though. If Connolly is out, that may bring Will Malajczuk into contention for the opener to add another spin option.
Keep an eye on the fitness of Joel Paris and Lance Morris, with Brody Couch potential cover.
Mitch Marsh is coming off an excellent campaign in The Hundred where he scored the most runs (416 at 46.22 with a 170 strike rate), but note he didn’t bowl a ball all tournament and hasn’t for a long time.
1 Zak Crawley
2 Mitch Marsh
3 Aneurin Donald (wk)
4 Cooper Connolly
5 Aaron Hardie (c)
6 Ashton Turner
7 Ashton Agar
8 Calvin Harrison
9 Jhye Richardson
10 Mahli Beardman
11 Lance Morris
