Scorchers crush 'Canes, climb into third spot

The match in a tweet: Red-hot Scorchers soar to third spot on #BBL09 table as Hurricanes sink to third consecutive defeat

The score: Perth Scorchers 7-175 (Inglis 73, Marsh 40; Rogers 2-30) defeated Hobart Hurricanes (Bailey 36; Richardson 4-19, Fawad 2-15) by 77 runs.

The heroes: In terms of cricket brains, Ricky Ponting, Tim Paine and George Bailey are about as sharp as they come and the Tasmanian trio all voiced their approval of Josh Inglis as he struck his third half-century of the tournament.

The Scorchers lost Liam Livingstone and Sam Whiteman inside the first three overs but Inglis and skipper Mitch Marsh put on 109 for the third wicket in a match-winning partnership.

Marsh has been in scintillating form in the BBL but it was Inglis who took the lead during their union, with Ponting suggesting the right-hander's style greatly resembled Brendon McCullum's.

Inglis smashed four sixes including a 94-metre bomb onto the Blundstone Arena hill to lay the platform for a big Scorchers total.

And with Paine in the commentary box suggesting Inglis is one of the "purest" wicketkeepers in the country, the Yorkshire-born gloveman's future looks bright, with his 46-ball 73 seeing his tournament run tally swell to 275 at a superb strike-rate of 155.

The support cast: Jhye Richardson has been a terror with the new ball in BBL|09 and again wreaked havoc in his opening spell on Monday to leave the Hurricanes reeling at 2-5 in a definitive early burst.

The two-Test quick removed danger men Matthew Wade and David Miller in the space of three deliveries and the Hurricanes, unlike the visitors, were unable to recover from early setbacks.

Richardson returned late with a classic yorker to dismiss Nathan Ellis for a golden duck after having Tom Rogers caught in the deep to finish with superb figures of 4-19 from four overs.

While the right-armer has been limited in his throwing as he recovers from shoulder surgery, he looks set to immediately come back into national contention when he can again field at 100 per cent.

The consolation effort: Bailey was as entertaining as ever on Seven's player mic and was in top form with the bat but found little support during the Hurricanes' flagging run chase.

In at 2-5 in the second over chasing 176, Bailey played a lone hand in scoring a 31-ball 36 but the likes of Caleb Jewell (28 off 24) and Simon Milenko (19 off 15) struggled to find the boundary to support the soon-to-be national selector.

Bailey was eventually out trying to slog part-time leg-spinner Livingstone in the face of a mounting required run rate as the Canes folded meekly.

The rough trot: Miller arrived in Hobart with big raps but the South African has found the going difficult in the BBL. He was promoted to No.3 as the Hurricanes tried to kick-start his season but he only faced three balls as Richardson dismissed him for a duck.

The left-hander, one of the most damaging limited-overs batters in the world on his day, now has just 91 runs at 13 in nine innings for the tournament.

The stat: The Hurricanes' total of 98 all out was the second-worst in their history, ahead of only the 91 they were rolled for by the Sixers in December 2015.

The next stop: The Scorchers squad's frequent-flyer points balance will continue to grow as they head home to host the Melbourne Stars on Wednesday, before returning back to the east coast to play the Stars at the MCG on Saturday.

The second-from-bottom Hurricanes meanwhile need to start adding some numbers to their win column, but it won't get any easier when they face the second-placed Sydney Sixers at the SCG on Thursday.