Big Bash League: Revisiting all the past winners

#4 2013/14 - Perth Scorchers

The Perth Scorchers ended their streak of losing in the BBL final

Perth Scorchers had become the England of BBL. They reached the final during the previous two seasons but ended up on the losing side on both occasions. This time, they were keen on going a step further and win the tournament.

However, they did not have a very good start to their campaign as they lost to reigning champions Brisbane Heat in their opening match thanks to Chris Lynn’s 81. They came back well by beating the Melbourne Renegades by 6 runs in a low-scoring thriller. They lost to Adelaide Strikers but defeated Sydney Thunder thanks to veteran Simon Katich’s 42-ball 75.

The Scorchers won their next three matches against Hobart Hurricanes, Sydney Sixers and Adelaide Strikers. All these matches were extremely close with the match against Sydney Sixers being decided by a Super Over.

Simon Katich, Craig Simmons and Uasir Arafat became the forefront of the team through their consistent performances. Simmons became the tournament’s first and only centurion with his 41-ball 102 against Adelaide Strikers which is the quickest in BBL history.

The Scorchers lost their final league game against Melbourne Stars but they were already through to the semi-finals as the third-placed team in the table.

In the semi-finals, Perth Scorchers were up against the Sydney Sixers. Craig Simmons scored his second century of the tournament to take his team to 193/5. Due to rain, the Sixers’ target was reduced to 54 in 5 overs. However, some brilliant bowling by Jason Behrendorff won the match for Perth Scorchers by 5 runs to take them to their third consecutive BBL final.

In the final, Perth Scorchers faced Hobart Hurricanes. Some brilliant batting by the Marsh brothers took the Scorchers to 191/4. Shaun hit 63 off 43 while Mitch smashed 37 off just 12. Some sensational bowling from Scorchers restricted Hobart Hurricanes to just 152. Perth Scorchers finally won the title.

In batting, Simon Katich and Craig Simmons were both amongst the top 5 run-scorers of the tournament. Katich was 2nd with 314 runs at a strike rate of 130.83 while Simmons was 4th with 278 runs at a strike rate of 165.47. Yasir Arafat and Jason Behrendorff were the pick of the bowlers. Arafat took 12 wickets at an economy of 7.37 while Behrendorff took 11 wickets at an economy of 6.37.