Scorchers sign Katich as Gayle heads to Sydney

UPDATE 12.05pm: The newly-former Perth Scorchers have signed dumped Test batsman Simon Katich for next season's Big Bash after talks with Chris Gayle fell through.

Gayle will play for Sydney Thunder along with David Warner after the Scorchers rejected the West Indian opener's pay demands.

A statement released today by the Scorchers said Gayle was offered $250,000 plus extras to play in the Big Bash. Gayle then came back with a counter offer, which the Perth side knocked back.

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Instead Perth have picked up former Western Australia opener Katich has joined the Scorchers.

WA-born Katich, who left the WACA to join NSW in 2003, recently voiced his anger after failing to have his Cricket Australia central contract renewed.

Perth have also signed current WA players Marcus North, Luke Pomersbach, Shaun Marsh, Mike Hussey and Mitchell Johnson.

“Securing Shaun Marsh was a high priority given he is one of the hottest T20 prospects in Australia and a Perth born and raised star. We could not see him wearing anything else but the orange (the Scorchers colour)," coach Mickey Arthur said.

“Simon Katich and Marcus North give us tremendous experience, leadership and hardness. I am thrilled to have both of them on board, and look forward to welcoming Simon back to his city of birth to represent the Scorchers.

“Luke Pomersbach is another whose record speaks for itself. As one of the most dangerous batsmen in T20 cricket and another of our local stars it is great news to have him committed to the Scorchers.”

Earlier the WACA made the unusual step of going public with details of the terms they had offered Gayle.

"The WACA made an offer of $250,000 to Gayle through his management company, Essentially Group," the Perth Scorchers statement said.

"The figure was to be part of the total player payment pool along with an additional services agreement, with various companies coming on board to bring Chris back to Perth and utilise his services whilst playing for the Scorchers."

"Essentially returned with a counter offer, which was rejected by the WACA."

Gayle played for WA in the past two seasons yet despite some sparkling knocks both spells were fractured. His first year was cut short by injury, while last season he left early to team up with the Windies.

"We presented Chris with a very generous offer and his management indicated that if our contract terms were near enough to the amount he was chasing then his preference was to play for the Perth Scorchers," WACA chief executive Graeme Wood said.

Mike Hussey, left, and Simon Katich playing for WA in 2002. They will be reunited at the WACA Ground

"We have invested a great deal in Chris Gayle the past two years and he has forged some great friendships here in the west. We firmly believe that he has been very happy with the partnership.

"Chris only played two matches with the Warriors in 2009-10 and left the team early due to national commitments last summer, but we continued to support and do all that we could for him the past two seasons."

Arthur also expressed his disappointment.

"There is no doubt that Chris is one of the most dangerous Twenty20 players in world cricket and it would have been great to have him on board with the Scorchers," Arthur said.

"But there are limitations within the salary cap and securing one player but running the risk of losing talented young players in the process is simply not an option when you are trying to build a team from scratch.

"We have made the decision to invest in our local stars, whilst also entering the market for two outstanding international recruits.

"We are very confident we have the mix right and look forward to making several exciting announcements in the coming days."

Meanwhile, the ANZ Stadium-based Thunder are hoping Warner will show some of the form that has made him the leading run-score at the Olympic Park venue with 209 runs from nine appearances.

Warner scored 54 from 21 balls, including three fours and six sixes, for NSW in their T20 clash with South Australia in January last year.

Test start Ryan Harris was the first signing announced by the Brisbane Heat ahead of the BBL which starts in December.

All eight teams have a salary cap of $1 million for season one of the league with a minimum playing contract set at $20,000.

The main contracting window for the 2011-12 season opened at 6am today (WA time) and closes at 2pm (WA time) on Friday, July 22.

During that time, teams can sign up to 18 players - and a minimum of 14 - including up to two from overseas.