WBBL Preview: Scorchers want 'contributions' from local players

WBBL|09 result: Third (8 wins, 6 losses), defeated by Brisbane Heat in The Challenger

Coach: Becky Grundy

Spots filled on contract list: 15 out of 15

WBBL|10 squad: Chloe Ainsworth, Stella Campbell, Piepa Cleary, Maddy Darke, Dayalan Hemalatha (India), Sophie Devine (New Zealand), Amy Edgar, Mikayla Hinkley, Ebony Hoskin, Amy Jones (England), Alana King, Carly Leeson, Lilly Mills, Beth Mooney, Chloe Piparo, Ni Made Putri Suwandewi (Indonesia)

Ins: Dayalan Hemalatha, Mikayla Hinkley (Heat), Ebony Hoskin (Thunder), Carly Leeson (Renegades), Ni Made Putri Suwandewi (Associate rookie)

Outs: Taneale Peschel (Thunder), Natalie Sciver-Brunt, Lauren Winfield-Hill

Potential best XI: Sophie Devine (c), Beth Mooney (wk), Maddy Darke, Amy Jones, Dayalan Hemalatha, Mikayla Hinkley, Amy Edgar, Alana King, Lilly Mills, Stella Campbell, Chloe Ainsworth

Player Availability: Sophie Devine and Dayalan Hemalatha will miss the start of WBBL|10 with the New Zealand and India ODI series but will return for the rest of the competition. Amy Jones will miss the end of the tournament due to England's series against South Africa in November. 

Inside word with Perth Scorchers coach Becky Grundy

With player availability and a shorter season, Scorcher's coach Becky Grundy has highlighted the importance of her side's domestic players' ability to 'stand up' in WBBL|10.

The WBBL was shortened to 10 games this year, down from 14, and with two big international series taking place between New Zealand and India and England and South Africa during the season, Grundy noted the team that has "big contributions" from their domestic players will perform the best.

"I say every year that the importance of our domestic players is becoming even more important with the overseas players kind of coming in and out the tournament," she said.

"The teams that have their domestic players stand up and have big contributions, I think they're the teams that find themselves in the finals."

All three of the Scorchers international players Sophie Devine, Dayalan Hemalatha and Amy Jones miss matches during the season which will see the club rely on players like Beth Mooney and Alana King to carry the side to the finals. 

Having made the finals in the WBBL in seven out of nine tournaments so far, the Scorchers will be confident that despite players being unavailable, they'll find themselves at the pointy end of the season again.  

Draft Strategy: Obviously we pre-signed Soph and we were really hoping that we could get Amy Jones back. We weren't too sure whether she would get through to us. We weren't going to kind of pay platinum, given her availability, so that was really fortunate that she did. For our third overseas, depending on whether we got Amy or not, we were looking for predominantly a batter. We got a shortlist together and Hema was on that shortlist. So when it came to being able to secure her, we were really happy with kind of where it landed and we came out of the draft close to, if not exactly how we wanted it go.

Drafting Dayalan Hemalatha: Beth Mooney has played with her in the WPL and having watched a fair bit of that too, I think she's got some really explosive power at the top of the order. I think everyone was a little bit surprised, she is maybe a slightly unknown name, but she was also selected for the World Cup squad for India. She's definitely an up-and-coming player on the international circuit. Beth Mooney spoke really highly of her time with her in the WPL and I liked the power that I saw that she brought at the top of the order. We're stoked to have hopefully the next big name in the WBBL. We're really looking forward to having her amongst the group and her connection with Beth is just a positive with that too.

Sophie Devine: We know that she's a highly sought after player and we made that difficult decision the previous year between whether it was her or Marizanne. We spoke about it then and it was Sophie's leadership that was probably the key thing that kept us with Soph and as I say that hasn't changed this year. We all know what she can do with both bat and ball but it's also her leadership on and off the field that is huge for our group.

Importance of Beth Mooney and Alana King: Beth Mooney's consistency is probably what holds her in such a good light across the competition. I don't know how many seasons it is in a row that she's scored over 500 runs in WBBL but it's a lot. The on-field performance is important, but also what she brings to the group. We've got some young players in there that she shares her knowledge with and helps develop those players too. We're fortunate that she loves to play with the club and we're fortunate to be able to lock her in. Sophie and Moons bring their leadership, but you can't go past their on-field performances too and the consistency that they've had year on year.

With Alana you see how important spin bowling is in the women's game and she's world class. She's someone that has consistent performances for us and I think leg spin, particularly in the women's game, is often really successful. We've been able to secure our kind of core players and then you kind of build around that. She's played and bowled in all phases of the game for us and is someone that Sophie knows that if she throws the ball to, she knows exactly what she's going to get. Just the energy and the vibe that she brings around the group and to the WBBL, a character like her is great to be able to pull everyone through and make sure that spirits are really high.

Going one better in WBBL|10: We started off with a bang and we were flying at the start and then we kind of hit a bump in the road and that was disappointing to have. I think we had four or five losses on the bounce, which we know that we can't afford to do particularly this year with the reduced season. It's going to be really important that we hit the ground running. It's about that consistency of performances and peaking at the right time. I say every year that the importance of our domestic players is becoming even more important with the overseas players kind of coming in and out the tournament. The teams that have their domestic player stand up and have big contributions, I think they're the teams that find themselves in the finals.

Bowling options: It's tough to have lost Piepa Cleary but we've obviously got some of the depth there. Taneale Peschel has gone over to the Thunder, but we've got young Chloe Ainsworth, who's now fit and fighting again. Stella Campbell as a pace option as well and our spin stocks too. It's always tough when you lose a senior player like Piepa and she is a leader throughout the group too. We're fortunate that we've got the depth of talent there within the WBBL as well but it's a real shame for her that she's kind of ruled out for the entirety of the season.

Opening season at the WACA: We're stoked to be able to start at home. I think we always get a really good crowd, regardless of who we're playing. To be able to kick off our season at home with our fans around us and family around us, I think that's always a really nice way to start. We'll come back after we have that stint on the road, which to be fair, our record away from home is pretty strong. So we've got to make sure that we take care of our home advantage with those home games. The vibe that's around WBBL is a massive highlight for the girls in their calendar year. To be able to start alongside fans and family, it's really important for us to get that start that we're looking for.

Challenges of shorter season: You've got to hit the ground running and then you've got to maintain that. You can't afford to kind of drop two or three games. Last year we were really good with how we started and then dropped off towards the back end. In a shorter season the performing teams will rise to the top and the others will get left behind. We're going to have our overseas players coming out of tournament cricket at the World Cup so they're used to that, they're used to the pressure of what every game means and then for our domestic players, it's just about being able to take some responsibility. Every team is going to have to be on from ball one with the condensed season.

Milestone season: I think it's huge, I think it's held Australian women's cricket in a really good stead. It doesn't surprise me how dominant our Australian women have been over the years based on the investment and the development of the domestic competitions and players. I think WBBL has obviously been a big part of that. The talent the competition has, I think it highlights that investment and to be able to recognise that 10 years on and there's still so much where the game can go to. I think it's a really exciting period for women's sport, but women's cricket and other competitions are starting to challenge us, which is great because it means that everyone starts to get better. It's been great to kind of be a part of, I was a replacement player in WBBL|02 but now to be coaching in it, I think it's still one of the best comps in the world. We've all got a role in making sure that that remains the case.

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