Home Double a Scorching Start

The Perth Scorchers will kick off their BBL|02 campaign with a big home double at The Furnace against the Adelaide Strikers and Melbourne Stars in December.

Cricket Australia today released the KFC T20 Big Bash League fixture for 2012-13, revealing all teams will play eight matches, one more than in 2011-12, with four at home and four away.

The Scorchers take on the Strikers at The Furnace on Sunday 9 December, and back up three days later on Wednesday 12 December against the Stars, with the possibility of champion leg-spinner Shane Warne in action for a re-match of last summer’s Big Semi Final.

The other two home matches at The Furnace will see the Scorchers meet the Melbourne Renegades on Saturday December 29 and the Sydney Thunder on Friday January 4.

The Scorchers are on the road for the BBL|01 Big Final replay against the Sydney Sixers, which will be at the SCG on Sunday December 16. They will then head to Brisbane for a sizzling contest against the Heat at the Gabba on Tuesday December 18.

It will be a New Years Day blockbuster at Blundstone Arena when the Hobart Hurricanes host the Scorchers, and the final preliminary round match is a return contest against the Strikers at Adelaide Oval on Thursday January 10.

WACA Chief Executive Officer Christina Matthews said this summer’s schedule was one that all fans of the Scorchers should be looking forward to.

“There is no doubt Scorchers fans love our players taking on the guys from Melbourne and Sydney, so it’s great that we will be hosting both the Stars and Renegades at The Furnace, along with the Thunder,” Matthews said.

“We are on the verge of the BBL contracting window opening and our fans can look forward to some exciting announcements over the next two weeks.

“There is also the potential that Shane Warne will link up with the Stars again, and having him here to play against the Scorchers early in the tournament would be a massive drawcard for Perth T20 supporters.

“Taking on the Strikers is a fantastic way to open the tournament and they should feature a lot of the players that have had success with South Australia in T20 cricket over the past two seasons.

“The people of Perth gave us outstanding support in year one of the T20 Big Bash League, with four of our five matches at The Furnace selling out, and our players will be out to repay that loyalty once again this summer.”

Cricket Australia also released the contracting rules that have been issued to the eight T20 Big Bash League teams ahead of the opening of the official Player Signing Window, which commences Monday July 9 at 7am WST.

Perth Scorchers 2012-13 KFC T20 Big Bash League Schedule

Date	Opponent	Venue	Start
Sunday Dec 9	Adelaide Strikers	WACA Ground	6:00pm
Wednesday Dec 12	Melbourne Stars	WACA Ground	5:00pm
Sunday Dec 16	Sydney Sixers	Sydney Cricket Ground	4:00pm
Tuesday Dec 18	Brisbane Heat	Gabba Ground	4:30pm
Saturday Dec 29	Melbourne Renegades	WACA Ground	6:00pm
Tuesday Jan 1	Hobart Hurricanes	Bellerive Oval	4:00pm
Friday Jan 4	Sydney Thunder	WACA Ground	6:00pm
Thursday Jan 10	Adelaide Strikers	Adelaide Oval	4:30pm

Note: Start times noted above Perth, Western Australia.

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