Champions League T20 – Perth Scorchers, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Yorkshire-c867 – Good but not good enough - Statistical Analysis – Opinion - Part 3
Continued from Part 2....
Perth Scorchers
Scorchers’ underperformance in the tournament came as a surprise to many. Indeed, they were the in-form franchise in the inaugural Big Bash League and boasted players of proven pedigree. They had a relatively strong batting line-up containing veterans in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Simon-James-Marshall-c90362 brothers.
Also with the presence of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MG-Johnson-c1945, who opted to join their respective IPL franchises.
They got a direct entry, owing to their Australian ties, but things hardly went to plan after that. They started the tournament slowly and were easily beaten by the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Delhi-c780 Daredevils.
They were restricted to a lowly 121 but an encouraging bowling effort kept them in the game before they suffered a narrow three-wicket loss. Katich summed up their performances as disappointing and admitted that they got what they deserved. He said that the team’s preparations were not up to scratch which ultimately resulted in a tame exit from the competition.
"I'm not going to go into details about that, but we got what we deserved, simple as that. We haven't shown what we're capable of in this tournament. We had a very good Big Bash last year, but in this tournament we've let ourselves down."
His words further suggested that all was not well in the camp, but they still managed to register their first win of the tournament by defeating Auckland Aces in the final game. They made three changes – dropping Shaun and Mitchell Marsh, along with Nathan Rimmington, allowing the likes of Collingwood to get a game.
At first sight, it seemed a straight forward switch, given that Scorchers had nothing to lose. However, following their win, North also admitted that their preparations were hindered owing to breaches in discipline by some of the players. Although he did not mention the culprits, he clearly believed that it did impact their performances on the field.
"All I will say is that there are players that played today and players that didn't play today that let the team down in preparation last week," North said at Scorchers' final appearance in the tournament. "Last week, against Delhi, there are players in our side that didn't reach the standards of preparations that we require from them.”
There woes started upfront where no one managed to deliver on a consistent basis. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mitchell-Marsh-c1974 and that too came in a lost cause against the Titans.
The bowling held their end well despite being their weak link. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Michael-Beer-c1949 was their top performer, claiming 6 wickets at an impressive economy of exact 5.
They will be eager to make a thorough assessment on the team’s failure and will look to perform to their potential when the second edition of the Big Bash League kicks off later this year.
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