'Perfect summer' took years of execution: Voges

Fifteen months ago, the Perth Scorchers sat 0-3 at the wrong of the KFC BBL ladder and the critics were lining up against under pressure coach Adam Voges.

Not only had they not won a game, but they had also just been bowled out for 94 by the Adelaide Strikers.

For such a proud cricketing state with a rich history in white-ball cricket, disgruntled Scorchers fans were pointing to a poor start and finishes of sixth and eighth over the previous two seasons.

Fast-forward six weeks and the Scorchers were playing off in the 2020-21 Big Bash final, and now, a year and three months later, Voges left the WACA Ground yesterday as a triple championship winning coach in the same season.

Add to that the Weber WBBL crown in November, it really has been a "perfect summer" for WA cricket.

Voges has only lost 13 of the 49 games he has coached since that December 28, 2020 defeat, completing a remarkable turnaround on Monday by becoming Western Australia's first Sheffield Shield winning coach this millennium as they ended a 23-year title drought.

"I think back to that period and I guess what that period did was just reaffirm the way that I wanted to go about things, the support staff that I had around me, knew that we were on the right path," Voges said after winning the Marsh Sheffield Shield.

"The on-field results don't always go your way but I always felt what we were doing behind the scenes, the way that we were structuring, the way that the program was developing, that we were going in the right path.

"There's some tough times along the way, it's never always smooth sailing but it's certainly all worth it when you get to this point in the season, and it's been a bloody long summer, but it's been an amazing one as well."

The 42-year-old said he was really proud to be able to help achieve what WA cricket have wanted for a long time – to win their first Sheffield Shield since 1998-99.

"It's the perfect summer, to be able to finish top of all three competitions, to earn hosting rights for all three finals and then to be able to get the job done, I'm just incredibly proud of everyone in WA cricket," he said.

"The players have done the job on the field but our coaching staff, our support staff, the support I get from the board, (CEO) Christina (Matthews), (high performance general manager) Kade Harvey, we all work as one.

"This has been years in the planning and execution, so to be able to do it on the field, all credit needs to go to the players but the team behind what's happened this year has been immense as well."

With veteran Shaun Marsh taking a few days after claiming his first Shield title in 21 years of first-class cricket to consider his future for WA, Voges again threw his support behind the 38-year-old should he choose to play on.

"You can’t (replace him)," Voges said.

"You have to rely on your depth. We saw Sam Whiteman stand up this game, we saw Joel Paris stand up this game, Cameron Bancroft, Matt Kelly, Hilton Cartwright, we've got the guys who are away in Pakistan, Mitch Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, AJ Tye, we've got some wonderful leaders within our group.

"Shaun’s a big part of that but that's part of our job as well is to make sure that we've got the next generation of leaders coming through and whenever Shaun does call time, we've got someone who is ready to go.

"We'll sit down I'm sure over a refreshment over the next couple of weeks and work out what he wants to do.

"Ultimately, it will be his call. He's absolutely got my support if he wishes to continue playing.

"If he's got that motivation to get out of bed and keep getting better, and that's what we've seen over the last couple of years, the drive and the motivation is certainly still there.

"If that continues, then he's performed really well again this year. I'm sure he would have loved to have scored a few more runs in this game, but he led the team incredibly well."