Roy adds even more firepower to Perth arsenal

The Perth Scorchers have signed Jason Roy for this summer's KFC BBL season to supercharge their already potent batting line-up as they become the first club to complete their roster.

In addition to the ODI World Cup winning explosive opener, the Scorchers have added swing bowling firepower in Joel Paris and Cameron Gannon to complete their 18-man roster.

Roy's arrival follows last week's confirmation that fellow Englishman Liam Livingstone would return to the club this season.

However, the exact arrival dates for both players are yet to be confirmed after England agreed to tour South Africa for a limited-overs series from late November.

While Livingstone is on the fringes of the England set-up and looking to force his way in, Roy is a certain starter in England's T20 and ODI sides. With England's tour wrapping up with the final ODI on December 9, the pair may not be available for the Scorchers until Christmas after they serve their 14-day quarantine on arrival in Australia.

England is yet to confirm the squads for their limited-overs tour of South Africa, with a number of BBL clubs sweating on the details. Dawid Malan (Hobart Hurricanes), Tom Banton (Brisbane), Tom Curran (Sydney Sixers) have all confirmed BBL deals while Jonny Bairstow has been closely linked with the Melbourne Stars.

While their arrival may yet be delayed by biosecurity protocols, the Scorchers will be confident Livingstone and Roy will be fresh after both players opted out of this year's Indian Premier League that is being played in the UAE.

"Jason Roy is one of the best white-ball batters in the world – that's a fact," Livingstone told cricket.com.au this week.

"He's also a very competitive guy, he hates losing, but he plays cricket in the right way. He'll be a great addition to the Perth team and to have someone like him and bring him into a batting line-up that's already stacked with a lot of ability, it'll be a great addition.

"He's the kind of man that gives confidence to other players so he'll be a great addition."

While Roy is guaranteed to deliver fireworks his role as an opener likely means an end to the prolific combination between Livingstone and Josh Inglis that proved so effective for the Scorchers last summer.

"I obviously had a great partnership with 'Ingo' at the top of the order last year and if they want to continue with that, great. If they don't, I'm sure we'll find our best way to set up our team to win as many games of cricket as possible," Livingstone said.

"I'm pretty happy to do what the team needs me to, wherever that is. Hopefully I've got the skills to be adaptable and it's something I would pride myself on, that I'm not just bracketed as an opening batter.

"I feel like I can bat in many different areas."

Behind a top three of Roy, Inglis and Livingstone, Perth will have Mitch Marsh, who is expected to make his recovery from an ankle injury in the BBL, Ashton Agar and Ashton Turner – who has returned to bowling off-spin.

While rising allrounder Cameron Green may yet find himself involved in Australia's Test set-up this summer, a middle order role crashing sixes and bowling four overs of heat would delight the Scorchers.

And international calibre quicks Jhye Richardson and Jason Behrendoff continue to tick off milestones on their road to recovery from respective shoulder and back surgeries. Behrendorff is expected to return to bowling action this weekend in WA's Premier Cricket competition.

"The Scorchers squad looks very strong, I'm excited to be joining the club," Roy said.

"I've heard the environment of the club is awesome and that it's a place where everyone wants to help get the best out of each other.

"I can't wait to get amongst the boys and help contribute to as many wins as possible."

The Scorchers could yet add an optional 19th 'marquee' player that is available to BBL clubs this summer, and BBL|10 will be the first season where teams will be allowed to field three internationals in their playing XI.

With a stacked line-up now complete, the prospect of Perth landing a 19th marquee player that would be paid for by funds made available by Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers' Association that is separate from the $1.86m salary cap is daunting.

Perth Scorchers BBL|10 squad: Ashton Agar, Fawad Ahmad, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Cameron Gannon, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis , Matt Kelly, Liam Livingstone, Mitch Marsh (c), Joel Paris, Kurtis Patterson, Jhye Richardson, Jason Roy, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Sam Whiteman