Perth Scorchers won their fifth Big Bash League (BBL) crown after Nick Hobson’s heroics helped them beat the Brisbane Heat in the final. Despite a bad start with the run-out of their captain Ashton Turner, Hobson managed to take his team to victory.
With the Scorchers needing 39 runs off 19 balls, it was 19-year-old Cooper Connolly who started the chase with 25 off 11 balls. Hobson then finished the job with his incredible performance, helping Perth claim the BBL title with a five-wicket win.
Hobson, an accountant by profession, had to take leave from his job to participate in the BBL campaign. He joked that he wouldn’t be going back to work on Monday after the title celebrations, and instead would let the excitement decompress before returning the following week.
With 10 runs needed in the final over, Hobson smashed Michael Neser for 6 and then hit the winning runs with another boundary. He said he would never forget the loud cheers from the BBL finals record crowd of over 53,000.
Hobson had to overcome a run-out disaster with Turner before he could concentrate on getting the win for Perth. Despite feeling awful, Turner boosted Hobson’s confidence by telling him that he had full faith in him and that he would be fine.
Hobson is not sure what the future holds, but he is focused on his T20 cricket and hopes to return for Perth. He doesn’t have a state contract and focuses on the form of cricket he is picked in.
Turner, who scored 53 off 32 balls, showed amazing leadership by not holding any resentment towards Hobson for the run-out. He told Hobson that he was a “gun” and would get the team over the line, which helped build Hobson’s confidence and eventually led to their win.
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