Big Bash League 2013-14 winner Perth Scorchers will be one of Australia’s representatives in this year’s Champions League Twenty20 that kick-starts on September 13.
The Scorchers are regulars in Champions League cricket on account of making it to the final in each of the first three Big Bash League editions, with two spots awarded to Australian sides.
Unfortunately for them, their performances in the Champions League have been anything but extraordinary.
In 2012, they were already out of reckoning for a semi-final berth when they won their first match in the competition – a low-scoring win against the Auckland Aces. A lot of it was, of course, to do with what went on off the field with the then-captain Marcus North admitting that a few of the players had let the team down.
Things turned worse in 2013 when Simon Katich failed to inspire the side to even one win. The only points they accumulated were through a washout against the Lions, while they suffered three pummelings.
They lost to Otago by 62 runs, Rajasthan chased down 121 with nine wickets and 21 balls to spare while Mumbai needed just 13.2 overs to make 150. It was a horrendous showing by any standard.
Perth will hope for a lot better than that when they take on the Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, Dolphins and one of the qualifiers, who will be revealed by September 16.
The Scorchers will have their third captain in as many editions. With Katich and North retiring from cricket, it will be the turn of former Australian international Adam Voges to try his luck as the leader, and he will know the task on hand is a onerous one.
Not only do the Scorchers have to face the two Indian sides – who have a distinct advantage of playing four overseas players – but they will also need to do that in Indian conditions.
Back home, the Scorchers have relied on pacy, hit-the-deck-hard bowlers to carve out their wins – Yasir Arafat and Jason Behrendorff combined to pick up 23 wickets in BBL03 – but will the same brand of bowling be successful in Indian conditions?
The presence of Brad Hogg, Michael Beer and Ashton Agar could give them some confidence but given recent successes of off-spinners against Indian batsmen, a frontline offie would have been useful for the Chennai and Kolkata games.
Of course, unlike the previous Champions League seasons, the Scorchers won’t be lacking in in-form, hard-hitting batsmen. The Scorchers’ biggest issue coming into a T20 competition against some of the best teams in the world has been their inability to put up big scores.
In Mitchell Marsh and Craig Simmons they have batsmen who can rectify that chink.
Marsh’s more disciplined approach to cricket off the field has translated into a man-of-the-series showing for Australia in the tri-series in Zimbabwe and selection to the Test team. Perth will hope he can continue in the same vein.
Simmons can blow hot and cold, but he showed during the BBL what can happen the day he decides to exhibit savagery against the opposition bowling. He was the only batsman in the BBL03 to hit a century and he went on to add another one.
His match-winning capabilities will be put to test on slower pitches, and his battle with opposition spinners could be one for the fans.
It is this batting edge that the Scorchers could use, along with one of the three aforementioned spinners to click against the Indian teams, to better their showing from the previous season.
The big question, however, is whether it will be enough to take them through to the semi-finals.
Players to watch out for
Nathan Coulter-Nile
Coulter-Nile has experienced Indian conditions from up-close. He was a part of the Mumbai Indians squad that took on Perth in the last Champions League, and then conceded 80 runs from the 10 overs he bowled in the only ODI he played in the country during the five-match series last year.
Sam Whiteman
Wicket-keeper Whiteman has been tipped for greater things and not just in T20 cricket. He will look to catapult further into national reckoning with a good performance or two.
Brains of a bimbo (Atgm)
Guest
They still can imo...boult and southee are among the best atm...kiwis are genuine title contenders for world cup 2015 and will be quite hard to beat at home
Targa
Guest
Northern Knights looking pretty good. If they had Anderson and Vettori they could win the whole thing
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Yes, Marsh has generally struggled in India, whether IPL or CLT20. The difference, however, lies in the fact that one has almost never earlier seen him bat the way he did in the tri-series in Zimbabwe and the Scorchers will hope he carries that form through. The one other aspect that makes me a tad more bullish about his batting this competition is that he did what he did on Zimbabwean tracks that so resembled sub-continental pitches - the CLT20 will have much better batting pitches than those in Zimbabwe.
Broken-hearted Toy
Guest
Mitch Marsh is certainly on a roll and appears to have greatly matured but he's hardly got a stellar IPL record with the bat. Simmons is very hit and miss, so we have to hope that he's more hit.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Coulter-Nile is in. And I think Perth's batting on paper is stronger than it has been in the past - it's now about how they manage to overcome the issue of playing in the sub-continent.
Brains of a bimbo (Atgm)
Guest
Their Batting seems weak....only the srilankan side look weaker than them.....is ncn in the squad?
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
An in-form Mitchell Marsh & Craig Simmons are the two they were lacking in earlier seasons. Marsh seems to have overcome his discipline issues for now, which could be good news for them - how the duo handle spinners could be the key. Simmons will be hoping he does not become another Richard Levi. Levi was selected by the Mumbai Indians for his hard-hitting prowess in conditions where spinners did not get much help but in the IPL, he struggled to get going.
Broken-hearted Toy
Guest
I can't see any reason why they would do any better. They lack hitters and players with experience of the conditions.
Shouts Chen
Guest
Perth Scorchers have never won a CLT20 Match before. I think that They have the key players like Ashton Agar and Sam Whiteman. Agar has not played a match since versing the Brisbane heat.