Mitch Marsh's BBL return innings lasted a single delivery but he looms as a major weapon in the Scorchers' race to nab a finals berth, while a star quick extends their stay at the club
Scorchers back 'heart and soul' Mitch Marsh to blossom
Mitch Marsh has been described as the heart and soul of the Perth Scorchers as the star allrounder attempts to regain his mojo following his Test axing.
Marsh's Test future hangs in the balance after he was dropped for Australia's series-deciding win over India at the SCG.
The 33-year-old averaged just 10.42 across the first four Tests of the series, and he has now been jumped in the pecking order by Tasmanian Beau Webster, who is set to be a key player in the upcoming two-Test tour of Sri Lanka.
Marsh returned to Scorchers duties on Tuesday night, and he was out LBW for a golden duck in his team's four-wicket loss to the Melbourne Renegades at Optus Stadium.
The result left the Scorchers nursing a 3-4 record and needing to win at least two of their last three games to have a chance of making finals.
Marsh will play the rest of the regular season with the Scorchers, and teammate Jason Behrendorff feels the man dubbed 'Bison' will prove to be a valuable weapon.
"He's almost the heart and soul of this team - West Australian through and through," Behrendorff said.
"He loves playing for the Scorchers. We love having him back.
"He missed out tonight, but his energy in the field is great, and it's just nice to have his smiling face.
"I saw some highlights on Instagram the other day about him hitting 100 off 60 balls.
"Those are the sorts of things that he can bring.
"And you never know, he might even bowl for us at some stage as well. So it could be an exciting package if it all pans out."
Marsh looked underdone during the Test series, with a back niggle limiting his bowling capabilities.
Behrendorff praised Marsh for putting his hand up to play for the Scorchers.
"Huge credit to Mitch as well, because he could have easily said, 'Look, I'm just keen to have a couple weeks off and not play'," Behrendorff said.
"But it speaks to his character and the way he wants to go about his cricket (that he wants to play)."
Perth's past two games have gone down to the wire, and they've lost both of them despite being in winning positions.
The Sydney Thunder needed 21 runs off the final seven balls in their game against Perth on Saturday, and they got the job done with a final-delivery boundary.
Then on Tuesday, the Renegades were in all sorts of trouble at 4-10 after five overs before chasing down Perth's total of 8-147 with two balls to spare.
"I wouldn't say it's necessarily concerning, it's more frustrating to be honest," Behrendorff said.
"We talk about always taking the positive option, and that's something that we continue to do, and it just hasn't quite worked out the last couple of games.
"We've been so successful over a long period of time playing this way, so certainly no panic stations.
"Probably seven or eight times out of 10, we're on the right side of it, and that's why we always get such a good crowd here."
The Scorchers face the Sixers in Sydney on Saturday and the Sydney Thunder two days later, before taking on the Adelaide Strikers at home.
Richardson extends Scorchers deal
Star quick Jhye Richardson has signed a two-year contract extension with the Perth Scorchers that will keep him at the club until at least 2027.
The 28-year-old, who made his Scorchers debut as a teenager in the 2015-16 summer, is one of three Scorchers to take 100 BBL wickets alongside Andrew Tye and Jason Behrendorff, and his 29 wickets in BBL|10 remains a single-season club record.
Richardson’s contract extension follows recent multi-year deals for Ashton Turner (BBL|18) and strike bowler Lance Morris (BBL|16).
“The Scorchers are such an amazing club. As a player I’ve felt appreciated and supported, no matter the circumstances. It’s a unique franchise because most of us play together for 12 months of the year. We’ve built really strong relationships together that help us understand each other’s games, which goes a long way towards being successful.
“Performing well is nice on a personal note, but it’s equally rewarding to be able to contribute to team success. Despite having a lot of injuries and setbacks in recent years, it’s still nice to be involved with all the success we’ve had as a club.
“I’m excited to get stuck in for the next two years and see how far we can go.”
KFC BBL|14 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
SIX
|
6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.228 | 0 | 9 |
|
2
THU
|
7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.167 | 0 | 9 |
|
3
HUR
|
6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -0.154 | 0 | 9 |
|
4
HEA
|
7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | -0.518 | 0 | 7 |
|
5
SCO
|
7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.624 | 0 | 6 |
|
6
REN
|
7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.392 | 0 | 6 |
|
7
STR
|
7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.299 | 0 | 4 |
|
8
STA
|
7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.531 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points