Perth’s consistency hold advantage against the underdogs Brisbane

After 56 league matches and four play-offs, the two finalists are ready to fight it out for the title. In the orange corner, it is the four-time champions Perth Scorchers (2013/14, 2014/15, 2016/17, and 2021/22), and in the gray, the one-time champions Brisbane Heat (2012/13).

Both teams have made it to the finals through contrasting routes. Scorchers won 11 out of their 14 matches and topped the table with 22 points in the league stage. Whereas, the Brisbane Heat rose like a phoenix after defeats in their first few matches.

Perth Scorchers road to final

They are the title defenders, and they have played like one. Throughout this season, the Scorchers hardly put a foot wrong. That is one of the reasons why they topped the points table, and bossed their way to the final with a commanding win in the Qualifier.

In the league stage, their three losses came against Hobart Hurricanes, Sydney Thunder and the Sydney Sixers. They beat Brisbane in both the encounters in the league stage, and both were emphatic wins. Safe to say, they will have the psychological advantage in the final. In fact, in their last nine matches against Brisbane, Perth have lost only one.

Strengths

In all three departments, batting, bowling, and fielding, Perth have been the best team.

Coming to their batters, they have scored at a run rate of 8.6 and have hit a boundary every 5.9 balls, the best in the league. They aren’t the power-packed ones like Brisbane at the start, but they are one of the best finishers. In the last five overs, they have hit a boundary every 4.9 balls, the best by any team.

On the bowling front, their economy and the balls/wicket ratio stand above all. They have conceded at an economy of 7.5 while picking up a wicket every 15.3 balls. In the field, they have dropped the least catches and have the best catching efficiency (94.4 percent). All-in-all, a complete performing team.

Weakness

Their only weakness in this edition has been their spinners. Their spinners have picked up only 16 wickets, the least among all teams, and their balls/wicket ratio of 31.2 is also the worst. Given, they play most of their matches in Perth, including the final, a less conducive surface for spinners, it should not affect them much. 

Jhye Richardson, who has been an integral part in wins for Perth, will not be available for the finals, owing an injury. 

Top Performers

Top three run scorers: Aaron Hardie (Inns – 14, Runs – 443, Avg – 44.3, SR – 141.5), Josh Inglis (Inns – 14, Runs – 405, Avg – 36.8, SR – 148.9) & Cameron Bancroft (Inns – 10, Runs – 342, Avg – 57, SR – 141.3)

Top three wicket-takers: Andrew Tye (Inns – 15, Wkts – 25, Econ – 8.3, balls/wkt – 13.9), Jason Behrendorff (Inns – 13, Wkts – 19, Econ – 6.7, balls/wkt – 16.1) & Jhye Richardson (Inns – 7, Wkts – 15, Econ – 6.75, balls/wkt – 11)

Highest Score: Cameron Bancroft – 95* vs Melbourne Renegades, Match 52

Best bowling: Jhye Richardson – 4/9 vs Sydney Sixers, Match 6 

Brisbane Heat road to final

To be precise, they have done something similar to what Mumbai Indians did in the 2015 edition of the IPL. Mumbai lost four out of their first five matches in 2015, and so did Brisbane this season. In fact, in their first nine matches, Brisbane had only two wins to their name with one game ending without a result. In their last eight matches, five in the league stages and three in the knockouts, they bounced back to win seven and lose only one.

With four wins out of the five in the league stage, Brisbane managed to acquire the last knockout spot (5th). Thereon, they have won all the knockout stage matches.

Strengths

One of their biggest strengths in this edition has been their starts. Brisbane have scored at a run rate of 8.2 in the first four overs, the best after Hobart Hurricanes (8.4). However, in terms of balls/boundary ratio, they are the best (5.0).

The reason behind their good starts has been their openers. Their openers have scored at a run rate of 8.5, the best among all teams. They have hit a boundary every 4.8 balls when no other teams’ openers have a ratio of less than 5.5. To intensify it further, in the first four overs, they have scored at a run rate of 9.1 and have hit a boundary every 4.3 balls, the best by a mile.  

Their bowling in the last five overs of the innings has been exceptional. They have conceded runs (9.8 econ), but have picked up 37 wickets at a balls/wicket ratio of 10.1, the best among all teams in this phase.

Weakness

Despite a stupendous record in the last five overs with the ball, overall, they haven’t been that great. They have conceded runs at an economy of 8.2 and have bagged a wicket every 19 balls, their balls/wicket ratio is the second worst among all teams.

From overs 1-15, their bowlers have picked up a wicket every 24.9 balls, the worst among all teams. If their batters have been one of the best in the first four overs, their bowlers have been the worst. Their economy of 8.3 is the highest among all teams.

Adding to that, Brisbane fielders have dropped 11 catches and have an efficiency of 86.3 percent, which is the worst among all teams. Also, apart from Jimmy Peirson, none of the top run scorers, Matt Renshaw, Usman Khawaja (National duty) and Colin Munro will be available of the Finals.  

Top Performers

Top three run scorers: Jimmy Peirson (Inns – 16, Runs – 331, Avg – 25.5, SR – 117), Matt Renshaw (Inns – 12, Runs – 283, Avg – 28.3, SR – 135.4) & Colin Munro (Inns – 8, Runs – 278, Avg – 34.75, SR – 150.3)

Top three wicket-takers: Michael Neser (Inns – 15, Wkts – 26, Econ – 8.3, balls/wkt – 12.6), James Bazley (Inns – 13, Wkts – 16, Econ – 7.8, balls/wkt – 15.8) & Matt Kuhnemann (Inns – 16, Wkts – 15, Econ – 7.6, balls/wkt – 20.8)

Highest Score: Colin Munro – 98 vs Sydney Thunder, Match 19

Best bowling: James Bazley – 4/22 vs Sydney Thunder, Match 19