Turner 'capable of captaining Australia'

Veteran spinner Brad Hogg has declared his former Perth Scorchers teammate Ashton Turner has the makings of an Australian captain.

Turner struck a triumphant 70 off just 32 balls in a dramatic KFC BBL match that saw the Scorchers notch their highest run chase at the WACA Ground for the second time in as many games at the venue.

The 24-year-old, who made his international debut in Australia's three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka last summer, has been arguably the competition's most effective batsman to date. In six games for the ladder-leading Scorchers, Turner has struck 196 runs at 49 but the most telling stat is his strike-rate; sitting at 168.96, it’s the highest of any batsman with at least 30 runs to their name.

Appointed Western Australia's vice-captain for this season, Turner will undoubtedly come into calculations for the Gillette T20 tri-series against New Zealand and England – and could potentially be in the reckoning to replace Chris Lynn in the ODI squad – while Hogg believes he has the makings of an international skipper.

"He's one that I think is capable of captaining Australia," Hogg told reporters after the Renegades' five-wicket, final-over defeat.

"Down the track I think he's got the ability for that.

"He's got a very good cricket brain. I think he'd do a very good job when Mitch Marsh isn't captaining the state team."

It's a bold statement, but not one made blindly.

Turner, who says he was a "slogger who batted at eight" when he first made junior WA teams, has worked closely with Perth native Hogg on developing his off-spin as well as his own approach with the bat against the turning ball.

"I've faced 'Hoggy' so much in the nets and in club cricket here in Perth," Turner told cricket.com.au.

"Hoggy has been really good to me. He's been a really big part of my career, with bowling especially.

"He's been such a superstar for us here in Western Australia. We owe a lot to him."

Hogg and Turner crossed paths multiple times with major consequences for Monday evening’s match in front of a record WACA crowd for a BBL game.

The defining moment of the game came when Hogg put down Turner on 16, a missed chance that the veteran admitted cost the Renegades the match.

The 46-year-old, playing at the WACA for the first time since crossing to the Renegades last summer, had been signing autographs on the boundary before he put down the hot chance came off Turner's flashing blade. Ever the fan favourite, Hogg accepted the crowd's cheers in mock delight.

"I dropped a catch that cost us the game," Hogg said. "I had chocolates at the start (of the game), and boiled lollies at the end.

"I had nowhere to hide so I had to turn around and smile and carry on."

It was no laughing matter for the visitors, however.

Turner proceeded to bash five sixes in total, including two from the last two balls Hogg will ever bowl at the ground he first played top-flight cricket on nearly 24 years ago, with BBL|07 set to be the last season the Scorchers play at the WACA before moving to the new Perth Stadium.

And Turner, in perhaps a glimpse of the cricket smarts that have so impressed Hogg, revealed a tactical decision from Renegades skipper Aaron Finch that may have given the hosts an edge.

"One thing that was interesting - when he (Hogg) had success for us, he normally bowled from the other end with the longer boundary," Turner said, with three of Hogg's four overs against the Scorchers coming from the Member's End.

"We hadn’t seen him bowl from this end with the short boundary.

"He's such a good bowler but when you're bowling to the short boundary, someone's going to take a risk and it can come off."

While Turner's appetite for international cricket grew stronger after making his debut in February, it would appear he's wasted no time wondering if he'll get a recall for next month's T20 tri-series featuring matches both in Australia and in New Zealand.

"It just gave me a little taste of it and it's something I'm really hungry for," he said of last summer's series against Sri Lanka.

"I can see that white ball cricket is probably the closest route I've got to playing cricket for Australia right now.

"(But) the thought (of a recall) hasn't even crossed my mind. I don't even know when the T20s are."

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