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Simon Katich formalised as list management consultant with Perth Scorchers

Former captain's consulting role becomes official, as Beau Casson and Matt Mason also join the Scorchers coaching staff under Adam Voges

Alex Malcolm
Alex Malcolm
17-Sep-2019
Simon Katich at a training session  •  Getty Images

Simon Katich at a training session  •  Getty Images

Perth Scorchers have formally appointed former captain Simon Katich in a strategic list management and mentoring role, as part of their revamp of the list and coaching staff ahead of Big Bash League 2019-20.
Katich, who was recently appointed as the head coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL after a stint as assistant coach with Kolkata Knight Riders, has been a consultant for the Scorchers over the last 12 months on their list management, advising coach Adam Voges, cricket operations general manager Ben Oliver, and assistant coach Kade Harvey.
The Scorchers' list has been reshaped significantly from the title-winning teams that both Katich and Voges captained under former coach Justin Langer. Michael Klinger's retirement along with the exits of Shaun Marsh to the Melbourne Renegades and Nathan Coulter-Nile and Hilton Cartwright to the Melbourne Stars has allowed for a rebuild of sorts to take place.
Oliver's move from the Scorchers and Western Australia to become Cricket Australia's new general manager of national teams caused an off-field reshuffle as well, and the Scorchers thus moved to formalise Katich's role.
"It's awesome," Voges told ESPNcricinfo. "He loves it, and is passionate about WA cricket and the Scorchers. I think all we've really done is just made his role official. I don't think he'll be doing any more than what he hasn't already been doing in terms of list management or helping the guys out in a coaching or mentoring role.
"We've just made it official now, which I think is right, and recognising him for the work that he's doing. Because he is doing a lot behind the scenes and then come Big Bash time he'll certainly be visible, which is great to have high-calibre people like Katto around."
Katich's role is not full-time, as he will remain at his base in Sydney and mix his consulting work for the Scorchers with his media and IPL commitments.
Harvey has been appointed as the new general manager of high performance for WA and the Scorchers, taking over from Oliver. He had previously been the Scorchers and WA bowling coach, and was part of the coaching staff for the Australia A 50-over team on their recent tour of England.
WA and the Scorchers have appointed Matt Mason as their new bowling coach. Mason played two Sheffield Shield games for WA between 1996 and 1998 before heading to England for a decade-long career with Worcestershire. Mason then moved to Worcestershire's coaching staff and also worked with the ECB's fast-bowling programmes prior to working with Leicestershire over the past two seasons.
WA and the Scorchers have also added former Australia Test spinner Beau Casson to their staff as an assistant coach. Casson moved back to Western Australia for family reasons after a successful stint as a batting coach with New South Wales. He had a significant influence on Kurtis Patterson's rise into Australia's Test ranks last year and their relationship is set to continue, with the Scorchers having signed on Patterson for three years.

Alex Malcolm is a freelance writer based in Melbourne