How Scorchers' BBL final hero nearly wasn't

Laurie Evans almost didn't play in the BBL|11 finals.

He might not have even played for the Scorchers at all if they didn't decide to 'take a punt' on a tip from star allrounder Ashton Agar.

But coach Adam Voges will be glad they did heed their spinner's advice to bring the English right-hander over as – despite battling a broken toe – Evans rescued the Scorchers innings with skipper Ashton Turner to lead them to a record fourth Big Bash crown.

"We'd spoken to a few people in England about him, we look at the numbers, we look at the footage, you take a punt," Voges said of Evans after the Scorchers crushed the Sydney Sixers by 79 runs in the final last night.

"You don't actually really know, and the longer Laurie's been out here, the more we've learned about him, his game and how he goes about it.

"He's actually really suited to these types of wickets and as the tournament went on, he's got better and better, played a couple of match-winning innings now and he saved his best for tonight."

The Perth coach said it was a "tough decision" to pick Evans as they weren't sure how his toe would hold up during the finals, but in the end they went for experience over young gun Aaron Hardie.

Voges said the Scorchers wanted some "more finishing power" and that's where the recruitment of Evans came in.

"Ashton Agar had played with him over in England and his numbers have been excellent the last couple of years and he brings that experience," Voges said.

Evans is a veteran of 199 T20 games across the globe, having played in Sri Lanka, the Caribbean, Pakistan, England and Bangladesh before the KFC BBL this season.

He 'finished' the innings on numerous occasions for the Scorchers this year with knocks of 69 against the Stars, 42 off 16 balls against the Renegades, and 40 off 24 against the Hurricanes to back up his match-winning performance in last night's final.

Several other Perth recruits also paid dividends this season.

They brought leg-spinner Peter Hatzoglou (15 wickets) over from the Renegades, signed up New Zealand power hitter Colin Munro (390 runs) for a second straight season, plucked English speedster Tymal Mills (12 wickets) for a seven-game stint early on and elevated NSW-based batter Kurtis Patterson (391 runs) to the top of the order where he had a breakout season and was their leading scorer for the tournament.

"Fawad (Ahmed) did a terrific job for us for a couple of seasons but we saw Peter as a bit of a longer term option for us and were really pleased to get him across," Voges said.

"Getting Colin Munro was a no brainer after the way he performed last season and the way that he fitted into the group.

"We we're really lucky to get (Tymal Mills) late in the piece and just his influence and impact that he had in the time that he was here … credit to our list management group."

Evans said he needed an injection in his toe before the game, and at the halfway mark, just to be able to play.

The injury has dashed his hopes of a Pakistan Super League stint, with the 34-year-old right-hander set to return home to England tonight to see his young family for the first time in months.

"When you're an overseas player it's not necessarily about the runs, it's about impact on a game," Evans said last night after the match.

"All I was trying to think coming into this tournament was how I can have the biggest impact possible, not necessarily being the leading run scorer in the competition with the highest average, it's all about strike-rate.

"I'm an adaptable guy, I've played around the world, I've got a lot of experience and I've done it well for a few years now and I'm not playing for England, so I'm here for the whole tournament."