Big Bash League: Perth Scorchers star Laurie Evans unveiled as The West Australian’s newest cricket columnist

Perth’s favourite Englishman has returned to the Scorchers and now joins The West Australian ahead of the Big Bash League. Laurie Evans will write weekly columns for the masthead in The Game cricket liftout — which returns on Friday — as part of our leading coverage of the tournament. And the Scorchers champion and fan-favourite even joked he wanted to “repair relations” between the paper and England amid a fiery Ashes series. READ LAURIE EVANS’ FIRST COLUMN IN THE GAME LIFTOUT, FREE INSIDE FRIDAY’S THE WEST AUSTRALIAN “Really excited to be back here in Perth obviously and to join up with The West,” Evans said. “It’s a huge paper out here and gave the English a hard time whilst they were over here, so I’m excited to kind of reconnect and repair relations.” The big-hitting batter won a championship with the Scorchers and became the king of Optus Stadium before he was poached by Melbourne Renegades in the international player draft. But his heart has always been in Perth. Evans will tap into his experience from almost two decades of professional cricket to take fans and readers inside the Scorchers’ camp this season and share insights, as well as the ups and downs, of the club’s bid to return to finals. The Englishman is part of a stacked Scorchers batting line-up that also includes West Aussie hero Mitch Marsh and white-ball stars Finn Allen, Cooper Connolly, Aaron Hardie and captain Ashton Turner. The Scorchers begin their campaign with a blockbuster home clash against Sydney Sixers on Sunday night.