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Perth Scorchers captain Ashton Turner says Mitch Marsh will play in BBL11 final but unsure about bowling

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Jordan McArdleThe West Australian
Perth Scorchers captain Ashton Turner and Sydney Sixers skipper Moises Henriques eye the BBL title.
Camera IconPerth Scorchers captain Ashton Turner and Sydney Sixers skipper Moises Henriques eye the BBL title. Credit: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Perth Scorchers skipper Ashton Turner says superstar allrounder will “definitely” play in Friday’s BBL decider against Sydney Sixers at Marvel Stadium could be limited to batting.

Marsh, who was named in the Big Bash’s team of the tournament and finished second in the player of the tournament, despite playing seven of a possible 14 games to date, suffered a left hamstring injury while batting in Saturday’s victory over the Sixers and didn’t take part in the field.

But scans on Monday revealed the T20 World Cup hero avoided serious damage, with Turner emphatic when asked if he would line up as the Scorchers hunt a record fourth title in their seventh grand final appearance.

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“He’s definitely going to play,” Turner said.

“I’m not sure about bowling but he’s definitely going to play as a batter at least, as a bare minimum.

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“We’ve seen how much of an impact he’s had. Stats show that you don’t need to run as many twos at Marvel Stadium and there’s a high percentage of boundaries hit here.

“Not that Mitch can’t run, he’s moving pretty well. I saw him chase my daughter at the park the other day so he’s moving OK.”

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 27: Perth Scorchers captain Ashton Turner speaks to the media during the BBL Final media opportunity at Marvel Stadium on January 27, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Camera IconPerth Scorchers captain Ashton Tuner chats to the media ahead of the final. Credit: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Marsh has done his most damage with the bat, blasting 342 runs in seven innings at an average of 68.4 and strike rate of 147.41, including a maiden BBL century.

But he’s also a more than handy bowling option when fully fit, taking five wickets at 25.4 this tournament.

With bowling seemingly off the table, it leaves the Scorchers with six fit bowling options in their likely XI unless young allrounder Aaron Hardie comes in after being named X-Factor substitute the past two games.

“I think every captain and coach wants as many bowling options as possible,” Turner said.

“Five is probably the bare minimum and anything above that is a bonus.

“We saw with Mitch not bowling in our last final that we were fine with five bowlers and I can still bowl.

“We haven’t finalised our team so we don’t quite know the make-up of the final XI yet so the more options, the better but we’ve also played plenty of games with five bowlers.”

Turner admits there’s “redemption” on his mind after going down to the two-time reigning champs in last year’s decider.

He feels like his playing group has learned from that tough loss and came back bigger and better this season, beating the Sixers all three times on their way to a seventh BBL decider.

“They’ve been the best team for the last couple of years and we can’t wait for the opportunity at a little bit of redemption,” Turner said.

“They were too good for us last year in the big games and we feel like we’ve taken lessons out of that and come back this year as a better team.”

It will be the fifth time the competition’s two most successful teams, with three titles apiece, have faced off in a grand final.

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