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Perth Scorchers coach Adam Voges, import Laurie Evans share thoughts on potential Big Bash draft next season

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Jordan McArdleThe West Australian
Perth Scorchers coach Adam Voges is not in favor of a BBL imports draft.
Camera IconPerth Scorchers coach Adam Voges is not in favor of a BBL imports draft. Credit: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Perth Scorchers championship-winning coach Adam Voges had his say on a potential Big Bash League import draft next summer, saying he likes the setup the way it is now.

All three of Perth’s imports were a great success this season, led by English batter Laurie Evans who capped off a stellar debut campaign with a player-of-the-final performance in Friday’s victory over Sydney Sixers.

No Scorcher has scored more than powerful New Zealander Colin Munro’s 833 across his first two tournaments, while English pace ace Tymal Mills, a late inclusion for injured countryman Bryson Carse, took 12 wickets in seven games before leaving for national T20 duties.

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A draft for international players has been discussed for a while and will again come into consideration ahead of BBL12, but Voges admits he likes the “flexibility” of making his own choices about recruiting.

“I like the flexibility of being able to make our own choices,” Voges said after the Scorchers’ 79-run thrashing of the Sixers at Marvel Stadium.

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“I know there’s still talk about a draft. Logistically it’s probably a bit easier but I think that’s the beauty of a tournament like this, it all starts from who you recruit and their availability and can you get players that are ready and available for you at the back end of the tournament.

“That’s all the things and planning we put into place and I guess a draft nullifies that a little bit.

“I understand both sides of the argument but I quite like the setup at the moment.”

Scorchers import Laurie Evans starred with the bat in the final.
Camera IconScorchers import Laurie Evans starred with the bat in the final. Credit: Kelly Defina/Getty Images

The Scorchers, competition’s most successful franchise after winning a record fourth title, have traditionally brought imports back for multiple years including Munro, Englishmen Liam Livingstone, David Willey, Michael Carberry, South African opener Herschelle Gibbs and Pakistani seamer Yasir Arafat.

Munro and Evans this week both declared that they would love to come back again next tournament in orange but were unsure about a draft.

“I hope so,” Evans said after his final heroics.

“They might change the draft system with the overseas players, who knows?

“I’d love to come back and play for the boys.”

“I’d love to, to be honest,” Munro said during the week.

“I always love coming back to franchises that I’ve been to before.

“Next year there’s talks of a Big Bash draft as well so we’ll just have to wait and see, sometimes team dynamics might change and they might not need a top-order batter.

“That will definitely be on my list to come back to but you never know, franchise cricket is so fickle.”

Evans thought it was “nice” to see players affiliated with specific franchises like a few of his fellow Englishmen have been over the years in the BBL.

“I think it’s nice to see some affiliation,” he said.

“You’ve got Alex Hales at Thunder, you’ve got ‘TC’ (Tom Curran) and ‘Vincey’ (James Vince) at Sixers, I think players can be built into franchises like that.

“But this tournament needs to attract the biggest players in the world, it probably needs to quicken up, get a bit shorter, get more exciting and get some more crowds in again, but that’s not for me to say.”

On the local front, the Scorchers have four players out of contract including last season’s Simon Katich medallist Jhye Richardson and BBL11 batting revelation Kurtis Patterson.

Batter Nick Hobson, who impressed in his first game of the tournament with a quickfire 46, and Scarborough young gun Cooper Connolly are the other two.

Connolly didn’t play at all because of Australian captaincy duties at the Under-19s World Cup in the Caribbean.

The BBL’s signing embargo period started at the commencement of Friday’s final with The West Australian revealing the re-signings of allrounders Ashton Agar (three years) and Aaron Hardie (two) that morning.

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