Good Evans, he's back! Fan favourite returns to Scorchers
Perth Scorchers championship-winner and fan favourite Laurie Evans is returning to the club after he was pinched from them by Melbourne Renegades last season.
A year after the Renegades snared the English blaster at the Big Bash League's international player draft, Perth brought him back to the club with pick 17 on Thursday afternoon.
Another former Scorcher, English left-arm quick David Payne, will also return to Perth. He was picked up in the final round.
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The Scorchers used pick four to add Finn Allen to their list for the second year of his contract and then passed in the gold round before taking Evans as a silver player.
Evans — who has played 25 matches and scored 653 runs for the Scorchers across the 2021-22 and 2023-24 seasons — was not retained by the Renegades, who instead took Pakistani wicket-keeper Muhammad Rizwan and Hassan Khan.
The 37-year-old has strong relationships with senior Scorchers players and staff, including captain Ashton Turner. He is available for the full season, including finals. Laurie Evans is back in orange. Credit: James Worsfold / Getty Images
'We're incredibly excited to have Laurie back, we missed him last year,' coach Adam Voges said.
'He is a crowd favourite in Perth and performed wonderfully well for us in his time there, so very excited.
'You see with both our picks, with Laurie and with David Payne, both have been with us before, have experienced the success we've had previously and hopefully they can come back and play their roles again and see how we go.'
Pakistani white-ball weapon Shaheen Shah Afridi was taken by Brisbane Heat with the first pick in the draft.
Payne has played six games for the Scorchers, including the qualifier victory against Sydney Sixers which sent Perth through to a home final against Brisbane Heat in 2023.
He played 10 games for Adelaide Strikers in 2023-24, but didn't play at all in last summer's tournament.
The 34-year-old is available for between four and six games and the finals series.
The one-time England international bolsters a pace attack that lost Jason Behrendorff in the off-season. Payne is a new-ball option, who can also bowl key death overs.
It is now likely the Scorchers will use their final remaining domestic list spot on a spinner.
Reigning Laurie Sawle medallist Corey Rocchiccioli, who has previously played for both Melbourne franchises, will become a frontrunner for that role, while Willetton spinner Luke Holt could also be considered.
The Strikers took Luke Wood with pick two to bolster their pace stocks, while Sam Curran landed at Sydney Sixers with their first-round pick.
Teams shied away from picking players who could be in the England squad for the Ashes and neither Jofra Archer or James Anderson were picked up.
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