After Scorchers’ top-order was ripped apart, No. 7 Hobson took over with an assault at the death to flay a flagging Heat attack in temperatures hovering around 40 degrees in the daytime fixture.
Hobson finished unbeaten with a career best 48 off 30 balls to turn the match on its head as Scorchers eventually claimed a comfortable 35-run victory.
The result wasn’t particularly important with Heat having already locked up top spot and a home final in the Qualifier on January 19. While the victory did officially secure a top-four berth for Scorchers, their bid for a historic hat-trick of titles might just rest with a second-place decider against Sydney Sixers in Perth on Tuesday.
The winner will meet Heat and earn a second chance, but the loser faces an elimination final.
The Heat and Scorchers match was something of a finals tune-up for both teams fielding notably different line-ups to their clash at the Gabba just three days earlier.
In what must have felt like a recurring nightmare for Heat, Hobson reunited with Connolly as they counterattacked and cracked open an attack that ran out of gas.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth
