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Scorchers batsman Nick Hobson says his role in the middle order, one absolutely loves, following his match-changing knock against the Heat.
The top order failed to fire sitting at 4-49 before the middle order came in to bring the Scorchers to a competitive total of 6/163.
Hobson played a crucial role coming in at No. 7 to blast 48 runs from 30 deliveries, with Cooper Connolly and Laurie Evans contributing 35 and 26 runs respectively.
Hobson told SportFM said Connolly and Evans’ knocks helped him ease the pressure heading out to the middle.
“Cooper was batting nicely, I thought that was probably his best of the tournament and took a little bit of the pressure off me at the start….Laurie before that had done alright to steady the ship,” he said.
“Those sorts of things, they're a little bit of a platform and I was confident in if I was around for the last few overs and faced plenty of balls, I would have got the taste of the wicket.
“When I came out to try and get that time in the middle and a feeling for the pace of the wicket and stuff like that, always seems to ease my nerves a little bit.
“That last over or two I was quite lucky to get a few out of the middle and post a good total.
Before Hobson came in, the Scorchers were 5-83 from 12.5 overs, with the fate of the final total left in the hands of the middle order.
Hobson says his role in the middle order, is one he absolutely loves, despite being boxed in as an opener for the first years of his career.
“Two years ago, just wanted to work on really my six-hitting in the off-season,” he said.
“I felt like that was an area where naturally I was okay at striking the ball but didn't put a lot of practice in compared to some of the best players that are out there. That kind of really morphed into a little bit more of a mid-order role, which I have now.
“It gives you a bit of a life when you get a few out of the middle, it can make a big difference at the end of the inning.”
The Scorchers bowled out the Brisbane Heat for 128, with AJ Tye taking 4-14 runs off four overs. Lance Morris added three wickets, finishing on 3-26.
Hobson believes the Scorcher’s bowling unit could be key to taking out its third consecutive Big Bash title.
‘(I’m) really proud of AJ, the way he came back. Obviously, he was the pick of the bowlers on the weekend. It's been a tough team to fit all our quicks in here,” said Hobson.
“I've been really impressed with Lance Morris. He's right up there in the wicket tally as well. He's done a lot this season, just for his pace as well.
“(Tye) bowled really nicely. You can trust him to bowl that hard length, which is hard to hit square of the wicket.
“If we can keep him, Dorff and Lance fit for the remainder of the tournament, that'd be pivotal for us to go the whole way.
IMAGE: The West Australian