Perth's perennial place in BBL finals continues

When the business end of a BBL season approaches, there's one team who are invariably there.

Perth Scorchers' win over the ladder-leading Brisbane Heat on Saturday saw them lock in a record 11th Big Bash finals appearance.

Across 13 seasons, the Scorchers have missed the KFC BBL finals on just two occasions, and the perennial big-game performers will be there again this summer.

While they won't finish on top of the regular season standings in BBL|13 as they did in each of the past two summers, they can seal second place – and the all-important double chance – with victory over the Sixers on Tuesday night.

Most BBL finals appearances (including current season):

 

Perth Scorchers: 11

Sydney Sixers: 10

Melbourne Stars: 8

Adelaide Strikers: 7

Hobart Hurricanes: 6

Brisbane Heat: 5

Sydney Thunder: 5

Melbourne Renegades: 4

If previous seasons are anything to go by, the Scorchers are also a strong chance to qualify for yet another Big Bash Final.

In 10 finals series to date they've qualified for the tournament’s showpiece event on eight occasions.

Their 80 per cent conversion rate is comfortably better than the next-best BBL club (Sydney Sixers, 66.7 per cent).

Most appearances in BBL Final:

 

Perth Scorchers: 8 (5 titles)

Sydney Sixers: 6 (3 titles)

Melbourne Stars: 3 (0 titles)

Brisbane Heat: 2 (1 title)

Hobart Hurricanes: 2 (0 titles)

Adelaide Strikers: 1 (1 title)

Melbourne Renegades: 1 (1 title)

Sydney Thunder: 1 (1 title)

A hallmark of the Scorchers' BBL|12 triumph was their ability to keep winning despite significant changes to their playing personnel.

Adam Voges’ side lost five of their best XI in the early stages of the tournament, including all three overseas draft picks (Laurie Evans, Phil Salt and Tymal Mills), Mitch Marsh to ankle surgery and Lance Morris to the Australian Test squad.

Later in the campaign they lost Jhye Richardson and Cameron Green to injuries and Ashton Agar also to the Test squad.

This season, they'll be similarly tested.

The Scorchers were dealt a cruel blow early in BBL|13 when title-winning captain Ashton Turner was ruled out for the entire campaign with a knee injury.

After a promising return from injury, Richardson has also been ruled out with a side strain.

And, while forecast, two of their top-four run-scorers this campaign in Evans and Zak Crawley won't be available for the finals owing to ILT20 and England Test commitments respectively.

On Sunday they announced that Marcus Harris would return to the club, replacing Richardson, to shore up the club’s batting stocks as they hunt a record-extending sixth BBL title.

KFC BBL|13 standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Total points PTS
1 Brisbane Heat Men HEA	10	7	1	0	2	0.972	0	16
2 Sydney Sixers Men SIX	10	6	2	0	2	0.339	0	14
3 Perth Scorchers Men SCO	10	6	3	0	1	0.725	0	13
4 Adelaide Strikers Men STR	10	5	4	0	1	0.331	0	11
5 Hobart Hurricanes Men HUR	10	4	6	0	0	-0.268	0	8
6 Melbourne Stars Men STA	10	4	6	0	0	-1.051	0	8
7 Melbourne Renegades Men REN	10	2	6	0	2	-0.288	0	6
8 Sydney Thunder Men THU	10	1	7	0	2	-0.652	0	4

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

PTS: Total points

BKT Big Bash Tipping is back! Be in the running for some epic prizes, or go for bragging rights with family and friends. Register now