Big Bash League: Perth import Finn Allen Scorchers’ biggest selection conundrum

Just four games into the season, the Perth Scorchers are facing a potentially campaign-defining dilemma.

Do they carry the misfiring Finn Allen in the hopes he finds the match-winning form he’s capable of, or do they cut their losses and look for the stability they have favoured for most of their existence?

The kamikaze Kiwi was the big recruit of the Scorchers’ off-season, boasting a powerful resume and reputation for hitting bowlers out of grounds.

But his start to life in orange has been nothing short of a nightmare.

His first four innings have offered returns of six, four, zero and zero despite the tall right-hander showing plenty of pre-season promise.

Fans caught a glimpse of his capabilities when he hit the opening delivery of the tournament into the stands.

Allen’s second delivery, though, was his last, fellow Kiwi Adam Milne swinging one through the gate and into the stumps.

The opener’s next dig in Hobart also started with a boundary, only for him to be dismissed the next ball.

His duck in Melbourne came after three balls of frustration, albeit on a difficult pitch for run making, while his knock against Brisbane Heat on Boxing Day lasted just five balls for no score.

The Scorchers showed they are willing to make changes at the top, swapping Englishman Keaton Jennings for Matthew Hurst against Brisbane.

Allen is a marquee signing, putting pen to paper on a two-season deal ahead of the draft.

And he’s proven on the international stage that he can turn games single-handedly when he gets going.

But the nature of that no-holds-barred ability is that he will fail as many times as he succeeds.

Perth have options at the top, with local opener Sam Fanning having impressed in his one outing last season, while Cooper Connolly has effectively been playing that role with distinction coming in after Allen’s failures.

Perth’s Boxing Day victory, engineered by a scary display of fast bowling, possibly buys the team and Allen time.

However, already four games into a ten-match season, the time for waiting and hoping could be up.