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Opinion
When Perth Scorchers captain Ashton Turner was run-out during their chase in the BBL 12 final, most of the 53,886 people at Optus Stadium believed the match was finished and the Heat would prevail.
It was then up to Nick Hobson, a grade cricket gun from Claremont-Nedlands and 19-year-old Cooper Connolly in his fourth match to win the title.
The weight of the world would have been on Nick Hobson’s shoulders running his skipper out, and the pressure on Cooper Connolly would have been immense.
He was experiencing the unique situation of himself playing in front of over 50,000 people contrasting to a likely 30 people at a grade cricket game. The 39 runs off 19 balls were made to look easy with the pair finishing the game in style with four balls remaining.
Nick Hobson finished with 18 off 7 deliveries and Cooper Connolly finished with 25 off 11 deliveries, with the Scorchers winning their fifth title in their history and consecutive titles in a row.
How is WA cricket so successful?
Perth Scorchers bowler Jason Behrendorff said, post-match “The culture around the group, we have got similar guys year in and year out, so the consistency is amazing and we love playing for each other.”
All this was done without arguably their best two players in Mitch Marsh out for the entire tournament and Jhye Richardson unavailable for large parts of the tournament.
It is not just the Big Bash that WA cricket is dominating in, but all three formats, with the state winning back-to-back in the Sheffield Shield and Marsh Cup comfortably. The dynasty of WA cricket does not seem like being lost anytime soon as well.
WA men’s head coach Adam Voges said, “It’s pleasing to keep the squad together”.
“They’re a tight-knit group who push each other to improve, and the results of the last two seasons are a testament to that fact.
“We’re as committed as ever to achieving sustained success, and stability within the squad plays an important role,” he said.
Indeed, this group of players have an extremely strong character that remains infectious around the whole playing group. Led by Administration, and former coach Justin Langer passing his wisdom onto Adam Voges, WA seems to have what all other states are looking for.
Even when WA cricket was forced into Covid hubs throughout the 2021-22 season for all formats, they were able to have sustained success.
The Perth Scorchers played the lone home game during that season racking up an endless amount of frequent flyer points to still come out victors against the Sixers. The siege mentality of the team acquired was on display.
The plethora of elite talent WA have produced over the years has been outstanding, and doesn’t look like ending, with the likes of Aaron Hardie, Cameron Green, Cooper Connolly, Teague Wyllie and ‘the wild thing’ Lance Morris at the helm.
These players have only just scraped the surface. Aaron Hardie was the leading run scorer for BBL 12, with 460 runs, a strike rate of 141.10 averaging 41.82. Lance Morris is making his case for being the next test match superstar whilst, Cameron Green continues his rise as one of the best cricket players on the planet.
Cameron Bancroft was one of the stories of last summer, who started on the bench for Scorchers and ended up with 357 runs for the tournament averaging 51 runs at a strike rate of 140. His shield season was even better, hammering 767 runs with an average of 63.91.
The 30-year-old has reinvented himself as an all-format player putting himself back into the minds of the Australian selectors.
Western Australia’s dynasty would not be able to exist without shrewd list-management decisions. They have had the ability to keep an elite core of players without losing too many. The importance of this has been understated, with many players taking smaller contracts to stay.
Of course, they had to lose some players along the way, but the state made the right choices, such as choosing to lose an aging Shaun Marsh to the Renegades and Nathan Coulter-Nile to the Stars. These types of decisions have allowed them to keep their young talent.
Leadership is another factor in their success, and WACA CEO Christina Matthews has been highly regarded for a long time in the way she has operated WA Cricket for over a decade now.
Former Head Coach of WA Cricket Justin Langer said, ”One thing l recognise in any organisation, or any team, is that leadership is critical, and her leadership is outstanding.”
“She’s very strong, she understands cricket, and she’s got cricket as the number one priority here at the WACA.”
Can they continue the dynasty?
Every single other state is trying to figure out how they can stop the almighty force of Western Australian cricket. WA seems like they are two steps ahead of the rest of the competition and will begin as favourites in all formats again.
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