Perth Scorchers reach a record ninth BBL final — exploring what makes them the most clutch and consistent franchise in T20 cricket.
The moment Mahli Beardman dismissed a rampant Steven Smith with a hostile spell, the Perth Scorchers virtually sealed their place in the final of the Big Bash League (BBL) 2025/26. The most successful team in the competition produced a convincing victory over the visiting Sydney Sixers to secure qualification for the home final. In the process, they secured their ninth final appearance in the league’s history, set to be played at Optus Stadium in Perth.
It was a phenomenal all-round performance from the Ashton Turner-led side, who topped the group stage with seven wins from 10 matches. They will now set their sights on a third title in five seasons. Remarkably, the franchise also made a blistering start to the tournament’s journey, claiming two titles and finishing runners-up twice in its early years.
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Perth Scorchers’ secret of success
Discipline & strong domestic core
Most T20 leagues around the globe are based on unpredictability. The players rotate, availability shifts, and schedules collide. Despite all these issues, some teams still find a way to build year-on-year consistency. Scorchers are one of them.
For any franchise to earn continuous success in a league competition, it’s important to turn their home turf into a fortress. And, this franchise has done the same.
Since the beginning of the BBL, the Scorchers have earned 64 home victories in 94 games at a win-loss ratio of 2.21. That’s the most in the league’s history, with the Sixers in second position with 49 wins in 84 games. Among the domestic or franchise teams that have a T20 win-loss ratio of 2.20 or more at home, the Scorchers remain in third position in terms of number of victories.
Domestic and franchise teams with most wins at win-lose ratio of 2.20 or more
| Team | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied/NR | W/L |
| Lancashire | 136 | 93 | 38 | 04/01 | 2.447 |
| Delhi | 114 | 79 | 34 | 01/00 | 2.323 |
| Perth Scorchers | 94 | 64 | 29 | 00/01 | 2.206 |
| Karnataka | 66 | 45 | 19 | 02/00 | 2.368 |
| Trinbago | 58 | 41 | 17 | 00/00 | 2.411 |
Even after they shifted their home venue from Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) Stadium to Optus Stadium, the outcome has stayed the same. The Scorchers have earned 30 wins in 46 BBL fixtures at the new ground at a win-loss ratio of 1.875.
One of the biggest turning points for the WACA was when Justin Langer took over in 2012. Before that, the state was at a low point. Strong leadership was required, and Langer’s coaching tenure brought discipline to the system.
“It is a reminder that we don’t want knobs in our organization. We talk about character over cover drives. That usually means traits like loyalty and discipline, integrity and physical and mental toughness,” Langer explained in 2018, which turned out to be his last coaching season for the side before joining the national side.
The line in the sand for the franchise is something special. They keep signing their state players, who are mostly familiar with the home venue. It’s basically the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) style of approach from the Indian Premier League (IPL). They turned the MA Chidambaram Stadium into a fortress with the same group of players over the years.
“All culture is good behaviour, and if you have got good people, you have got good behaviour, haven’t you? We have only got three team rules now — one of them is common sense, the other is keep things simple, and the other one is respect alcohol,” Langer told ABC News.
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Scorchers thrive on situation-based players
The Scorchers always find the players with the hunger to do well in the summer. And most importantly, they show full trust in those players. Last season, they signed New Zealand’s Finn Allen, who declined a central contract with the Kiwis.
Meanwhile, Allen struggled in the previous season with 181 runs at 18.10, but he has returned to shown his caliber in the ongoing edition. The right-handed batter has collected 430 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 186.14, thanks to two fifties and one century. That’s the beautiful part of the franchise. They know how the support staff and coaches will get the best of their players.
The Scorchers don’t worry about the ‘bigger-name players’ at the rival clubs. It’s quite shocking how they continuously go under-appreciated and are shown a lack of respect because of not recruiting players based on their reputation .However, the formula of maintaining a West Australia core has worked in their favour.
After Langer’s departure, the Scorchers appointed Adam Voges as the new coach while Ashton Turner got the captaincy from Voges. This captain-coach partnership continues to blossom. The latter has even been signed for a four-year contract, which means the one-club player will be 36 by the time his contract ends.
Their bowling department is all about a good variety of experience and youth, swing and pace, right-arm and left-arm bowlers with a hint of spin. In the absence of veteran Jason Behrendroff, Jhye Richardson has stood out in crunch situations during this season.
The blend of their bowling attack on all surfaces around the country has been fantastic. And, the coach isn’t afraid of switching things around when different conditions and situations arrive.
On January 25, Perth Scorchers will have the chance to earn their record sixth BBL title. At the home ground, they’ll meet the winner of the clash between Sydney Sixers and Hobart Hurricanes. The contest will be fascinating, but the Scorchers follow their same old disciplined mantra.
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