Aaron Kirby: Hobart Hurricanes conquer Perth Scorchers with spin and guile over pace and bounce

Whenever cricket in Perth is discussed, the first topic that comes to mind is pace and bounce. And rightly so with the WACA curating a rich history of fast pitches and faster bowlers, as well as Optus Stadium making their drop-ins an extension of the State’s spiritual cricket home. However, if the shortest format has taught us anything, it’s break the chains and you’ll be rewarded. Don’t get caught up in the mystic of Perth and its legendary pace. Because the real weapon is in slowing things down, particularly as the game reaches its peak power-hitting era. The Scorchers have made little secret of their desire for a power-packed order with Mitch Marsh, Finn Allen, Cooper Connolly, Ashton Turner, Laurie Evans and Nick Hobson all jammed in there. The Hurricanes won their maiden title last season off the back of Mitch Owen opening the innings with guns blazing, while Tim David, arguably the world’s best finisher, backing him up later in the innings. And the one thing most power hitters have in common is a love of pace, so they can swing through the line and bat on instinct. Sometimes, the most dangerous part of being talented is having too many options, so why not make the batter have to physically think about what he wants to do rather than acting on see ball, hit ball? On Boxing Day, Hobart brought two spinning imports, Rishad Hossain and Rehan Ahmed, to Optus Stadium. Connolly has been near unmovable in the past two seasons, but Hossain floated up a tempting second ball and had the all-rounder caught trying to go large. He and Ahmed then combined for wickets three, four and five to rip the heart out of a Scorchers’ order that couldn’t find momentum against the slow bowling. It even opened the door for the quicker bowlers to dive into the trick bag. Marsh was dismissed with a slower ball, while Allen met his demise at the hands of medium pacer Owen. A slow bouncer then did for Ashton Agar as the Scorchers ended their innings 8-150. The home side took their troubles and learnt from them, giving Connolly, a left-arm spinner, the first over of the innings with him removing Owen for six second ball. He returned again in the eighth over, removing Ben McDermott lbw, trying to create a reverse to get away from the pressure. Connolly grabbed a scalp again in his third set, but the Scorchers left one over from him and two from Agar on the table as the Hurricanes chased the total down in the final over. It’s not the first time spin has been the key at Optus Stadium either, with the Adelaide Strikers famously tweaking their way to an elimination final win in 2024, playing three spinners and defending just over 150.