Hobart Hurricanes captain Xavier Doherty was not surprised when no-one hailed his outfit as Big Bash League contenders.
"Probably at the start of the series, no-one really talked about us," Doherty said.
"No-one really does talk about Hobart, that is just the way it is and we accept that."
But three consecutive wins have Hobart not only BBL pacesetters, but standard setters.
Doherty, who took a masterly 4 for 17 in Hobart's 14-run victory over Adelaide Strikers on Wednesday night, is the competition's most economical bowler.
The second and third most miserly are his team-mates, Rhett Lockyear and Ben Hilfenhaus.
The Hurricanes boast the tournament's top run-scorer in Travis Birt (149 runs), with team-mate Phil Jaques third.
And Hobart's star import, Pakistani pacer Rana Naved, has taken the most wickets so far, with Doherty second.
Little wonder Doherty says the Hurricanes are riding a wave of confidence.
"Winning becomes a bit of a habit and at the moment we're winning and it's pretty good," he said.
"Guys are playing with confidence, which is a massive part of Twenty20."
Hobart's batting has been underpinned by Jaques' consistency and Birt's aggression with a common theme of steady, rather than blazing, starts to their innings.
"We probably don't have the superstars at the top of the order to go really hard," Doherty said.
"I'm sure at some stage this tournament we will get off to a bit of a flyer but so far it's more just six, seven runs an over.
"But more often than not, we have got wickets in hand and that is the main thing."
Hobart host the Chris Gayle-powered Sydney Thunder, who are undefeated from two games, on New Year's Day.
AAP
Tags: sport, cricket, australia, tas, hobart-7000 First posted December 29, 2011 14:19:47
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