Photo Credit: Perth Scorchers
Perth Scorchers’ spin-bowling attack has received a boost, adding talented local Hamish McKenzie to the mix for the upcoming KFC BBL|13 season.
The left-arm wrist-spinner has been among the more prolific wicket-takers in WA Premier Cricket while playing for Subiaco-Floreat.
McKenzie took 65 wickets at 13.32 across formats to win the 2021-22 Olly Cooley Medal as WA Premier Cricket’s best and fairest player, earning his first WA contract ahead of the 2022-23 domestic season.
Modelling elements of his game on Scorchers great Brad Hogg, McKenzie started that summer by removing superstars Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik during a practice match between WA and India leading into the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
The 24-year-old was called up by Perth in BBL|12 as a replacement player before injuries halted his MBBL and domestic campaigns.
Upon signing with the Scorchers, McKenzie said:
“I’m pretty pumped. It’s been a bit of a journey to get here and I can’t wait to get started.”
On joining the Scorchers as an injury replacement player in BBL|12:
“It was pretty amazing. I got to spend heaps of time with some of the best players in the world … I learned a lot and I’m ready to go this year.”
On playing against India:
“That was an amazing experience. We played against the likes of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, and for the first couple of overs I didn’t really know what I was doing.
“I settled in OK and the learnings from it were amazing.”
Perth Scorchers General Manager – High Performance Cricket & Elite Teams Kade Harvey said:
“Hamish is an exciting prospect for us and adds something completely different to our attack.
“His skills with the ball, in terms of variety and control, are strong, and he’s shown over many years playing Premier Cricket that he’s the ultimate competitor.
“He got a taste of the Big Bash last year as an injury replacement player, so we’re keen to see what he can do throughout the course of a full MBBL season.”
The Scorchers have one local list spot and one international list spot to fill, following McKenzie’s recruitment.
Perth Scorchers list for BBL|13
Ashton Agar
Jason Behrendorff
Cooper Connolly
Zak Crawley (International – England)
Laurie Evans (International – England)
Aaron Hardie
Nick Hobson
Josh Inglis (vice-captain)
Matt Kelly
Mitch Marsh
Hamish McKenzie
Lance Morris
Jhye Richardson
Sam Whiteman
Ashton Turner (captain)
Andrew Tye
