January 21, 2024

‘We had to be brave’ – How the Spin Twins Rescued Strikers’ Season

Perth Scorchers, the reigning champions, are shocked when Lloyd Pope and Cameron Boyce claim seven wickets.

With their season hanging in the balance, the Adelaide Strikers’ management faced a crucial selection dilemma before they clashed with the defending champions, the Perth Scorchers, at the pace-friendly Optus Stadium.

Following a significant turnaround since a heavy defeat in Perth earlier in the month, where they conceded 211 runs for 4, the Strikers had fought their way into the knockout finals. Their previous loss had left their hopes of advancing to the finals precariously close to collapse.

At that time, the Strikers were languishing at the bottom of the BBL ladder, and their struggling attack had allowed over 200 runs in three of their last five games.

“We got to a point in the season where every game was a final for us,” Strikers coach Jason Gillespie said. “So we had to do something different. We had to be brave enough to make a change in our philosophy and strategy.”

The Strikers turned to legspinner Lloyd Pope, renowned for his standout performance at the 2018 Under-19 World Cup, despite having played only one domestic match across all formats in the past two seasons.

This gamble paid off brilliantly as Pope delivered a match-winning performance, taking crucial wickets of Aaron Hardie and Josh Inglis. His efforts and a reinvigorated Strikers attack restricted the Scorchers to 153 for 7. The Strikers then secured a commanding nine-wicket victory at the Adelaide Oval.

Pope continued his strong partnership with frontline legspinner Cameron Boyce, who has seamlessly stepped in for the injured Afghanistan star Rashid Khan throughout the season.

“They’re two very different types of legspinners,” Gillespie said. “Boyce is a lot slower through the air. He’s got great control of his length and Popey’s a little bit quicker through the air, but he’s got a real turning and bouncing wrong’un.”

The traditionally hard and fast surface at Optus Stadium presents a significant challenge for spinners, who often need help to make an impact. It’s rare for teams to field two frontline spinners at this venue. In the ground’s previous match, the Sydney Sixers opted to drop in-form left-armer Steve O’Keefe in favor of seamer Jackson Bird.

Despite calls from quicks Wes Agar and Brendan Doggett for a recall, the Strikers chose to stick with Pope. They included offspinning all-rounder Ben Manenti in their lineup.

“We’ve come here [Perth] over the years trying to fight fire with fire,” Gillespie said. “Let’s take a complete change of tactics and see how we go. We genuinely believed the team we picked from a bowling perspective was a really good match up against the Scorchers

“We knew they had a lot of left-handers, so the offspin and the leggies bowling two different paces… we thought that would create a challenge for Scorchers. They like pace on, they are a strong hitting team. Let’s take the air out of the ball and make them make the pace.”

Defending a modest 155 for 7, the Strikers seemed on the brink of elimination as debutant Sam Fanning aggressively attacked the new ball, helping the Scorchers score 33 runs in the powerplay.

Adelaide Strikers’ Winning Streak:

vs Brisbane Heat: Match abandoned

vs. Sydney Thunder: Won by six wickets

vs Sydney Sixers: Lost by one run

vs Melbourne Renegades: Lost by four wickets

vs. Melbourne Stars: Lost by seven wickets

vs. Perth Scorchers: Lost by 42 runs

vs Perth Scorchers: Won by nine wickets

vs Hobart Hurricanes: Won by five wickets

vs Hobart Hurricanes: Won by eight wickets

vs. Sydney Thunder: Won by nine wickets

vs Perth Scorchers: Won by 50 runs

Fanning’s promising debut was abruptly halted by seamer Henry Thornton, who dismissed him before Pope entered the attack in the sixth over. Pope quickly made an impact, taking out Marcus Harris on his fourth delivery and then teaming up with Boyce to deliver a spell of spin bowling that left the Scorchers in disarray.

The match hinged on the battle between the Strikers’ spin duo and the Scorchers’ top batsmen, Aaron Hardie and Josh Inglis, who typically dominate spinners at Optus Stadium. Hardie, known for his aggressive play against spin, was deceived by a flighted delivery from Pope that dipped and crashed into his stumps.

The pressure shifted to Inglis, who usually excels against spin by creating room and driving over the covers. However, he attempted his trademark shot against Boyce, only for the ball to skid off the surface and knock over his leg stump.

Boyce’s ecstatic celebration marked the end for the Scorchers, who were bowled out for 105. Spin claimed eight of their ten wickets, including a combined seven from Pope and Boyce.

“The feedback from our batters was that it was like a tennis ball bounce on a spongy surface. We thought that would actually work for us with our spinners,” Gillespie said. “We just felt we were in the game and then were a wicket away from cracking it open.”

The Strikers’ commanding 50-run victory seemed improbable when they struggled at 48 for 4 after being sent into bat.They were first startled when captain Matthew Short was removed for just 13 after being brilliantly yorkered by veteran Andrew Tye.

This was only Short’s second failure in a record-breaking season as he approaches a potential spot in Australia’s T20 World Cup squad.

The Strikers’ comeback was spearheaded by No. 3 Jake Weatherald, another crucial late-season addition. Concerns had been mounting about their batting lineup in the absence of Chris Lynn, Adam Hose, and Jamie Overton, who had all moved to the ILT20 in the UAE.

But Weatherald continued his rich vein of form to hit the only half-century of the match and ignite Strikers. “Jake’s had a quiet couple of years. We just had to back his experience,” Gillespie said of Weatherald, who is averaging 183 with a strike-rate of 192.63 in his last three matches.

“He’s just coming out with a free mind and I’ve just encouraged him to hit the ball like he’s having a net because he’s one of the best batters in the net you’ll ever see.”

Getty Images

Having ended the Scorchers’ dominance of the BBL, the Strikers secured one of their most memorable, incredibly satisfying victories. On game day, coach Gillespie’s team was greeted by the back page of the West Australian, the local newspaper known for its strong regional bias, which featured the headline “Scorchers vs One Man.”

“Incredibly pleased, especially when we read the back page of the paper today and saw that we are a one-man team,” Gillespie said. “That gave the boys a hell of a lot of motivation.”

It gave assistant coach Ryan Harris the ideal material for his customary pre-game pep talk, and the rest, as they say, is history.

The Strikers have to get back together soon because on Monday they play the Brisbane Heat in the Challenger on the Gold Coast. The winner will play the Sixers in the championship game at the SCG on Wednesday.

Interestingly, the Heat and Strikers have effectively not faced each other this season, as their earlier match in Adelaide was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

A two-paced surface on the Gold Coast is expected to favor Boyce and Pope, as the Strikers are on the brink of their first BBL title in six years.

“A couple of buzzwords for us this year have been: calm and clear… execute. We’ve kept things really simple as much as we can,” Gillespie said. “We’ve got nothing to lose. We’ll go to the Gold Coast full of beans and full of energy… but, again, [stay] nice and calm.

“Just go out there and have some fun and see where it takes us.”

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