The WACA’s failure to secure one or two top-order batsmen capable of winning Perth Scorchers games is the single clearest reason that the Big Bash League’s most successful franchise has turned into a basket-case this season.

This is not Twenty20 hindsight after a summer of discontent. This should have been anticipated after last season and attempts made to rectify it before this one.

Consider the events in West Australian cricket between BBL07 and the expiry of the contracting period for BBL08.

Shaun and Mitch Marsh, two key players in Perth’s history, scored Ashes centuries at the SCG last January to suggest that they would be Test regulars this summer. The brothers played one Scorchers match each last season and subject to international fixturing, it was unlikely they would be available for many more this tournament.

Adam Voges retired after the semifinal loss last January, not only costing the Scorchers handy runs but the coolest head in Australian cricket.

Cam Bancroft was banned for the early part of the season and though he has made a strong return, no one could predict how he would play in his comeback.

Veteran Michael Klinger retired from first-class ranks while Sam Whiteman continued to battle the finger injury that required multiple surgeries to repair. Their ability to maintain their Twenty20 levels of performance was unclear.

And Hilton Cartwright, despite a strong campaign that saw him score 249 runs as Perth’s second highest run-maker, still did it at a strike rate of just 112 to maintain his career return of just over a run a ball.

Few T20 teams are going to win multiple matches with a middle order plodding at that rate.

That is six players, five of whom were contracted to play this summer and all of whom needed to make a difference in the top order despite questions over their availability and impact.

It is apparent that the Scorchers have been penalised for their previous success with multiple-year contracts being given to players to reward their efforts and stave off interest from other franchises.

Perth also have several players like pacemen Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jason Behrendorff and Joel Paris who hold State contracts with the WACA but are unlikely to bowl a ball in Sheffield Shield ranks this summer.

Balancing multiple contracts across different formats is no easy task, so high performance manager Ben Oliver and coach Voges should not be envied in their duties.

But the reality is that the Scorchers bat poorly — their strike rate of 118 and 42 per cent of their runs from boundaries are the lowest in the league.

Their plight should have been anticipated and team management should have sought ways to avoid or minimise it.

There are only two directions in professional sport — teams and players either get better or get worse.

After many years of getting better, the Scorchers have suddenly got a lot worse.

Now they need to use Twenty20 vision to find a way to bat their way out of trouble.