The Perth Scorchers go head-to-head with the Melbourne Stars tonight in the KFC BBL06 semi-final at #TheFurnace.

How quickly the finals have come around!

After a bit of a rollercoaster season, the Perth Scorchers have made it to the semi-finals and finished top of the pops. For the fifth time in six seasons, the Scorchers and the Melbourne Stars will come head-to-head in the BBL semi-finals. You do not want to miss this game!

Below are 5 reasons why the Scorchers will defeat the Stars and move on to the BIG Final on the weekend.

1. Finals Experience

Been there done that! The Scorchers have played and won, 4 semi-finals at The Furnace in the past. Three of those semi-finals were against the Stars. Perth is the most successful team in BBL history. They featured in the first four BBL finals and won the third and fourth season (in 2013/14 and 2014/15).

Not a bad track record!

2. Home Ground Advantage

Perth’s record at The Furnace is strong, having won 18 of their 29 total games played at the venue, including 4 semi-finals. The Scorchers have an emphatic support base who really get behind the team and help them to lift during the matches – especially when closing out games with the ball in hand.

The see of Orange would definitely have to be intimidating to the opposition.

3. Depth

The Perth Scorchers have a lot of depth which really helps to balance out the side. The bowlers in particular were vital in their 7-wicket win over the Hurricanes last Saturday. Mitchell Johnson has been impressive in recent matches, as has AJ Tye and England International Tim Bresnan, who replaced David Willey.

4. MJ

Finals are built for Mitchell Johnson. On the biggest stage is when guys like Mitchell Johnson take their game to another level. Don’t be surprised to see a more fiery than usual MJ with a bit of extra pace and swing as the adrenaline of the BBL final kicks in.

Not to mention he has the same initials as perhaps the greatest athlete and finals performer of all-time Michael Jordan… coincidence?

5. Shaun Marsh

By Shaun Marsh’s lofty standard the BBL06 has been a disappointing campaign, with some suggesting that he could have lost his spot in the team on numerous occasion with the depth of the Scorcher squad. Langer though has kept the faith and was rewarded with a classic Marsh outing of 54 from just 34 balls. If this is the start of Shaun Marsh’s run then we are in for a hell of a show!

Catch the Scorchers and the Stars battling it out at #TheFurnace this afternoon, from 4.40pm WST.

Perth Scorchers Squad: Adam Voges (c), Ashton Agar, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Hilton Cartwright, Michael Klinger, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Cameron Valente, Sam Whiteman.

Melbourne Stars Squad: David Hussey (c), Michael Beer, Scott Boland, Liam Bowe, Jackson Coleman, Seb Gotch, Evan Gulbis, Ben Hilfenhaus, Kevin Pietersen, Rob Quiney, Marcus Stoinis, Luke Wright, Dan Worrall

Show your support for the Perth Scorchers at @ScorchersBBL #MADETOUGH