Hobart Hurricanes skipper Xavier Doherty led his side to a 14-run victory over the Adelaide Strikers in Wednesday night's T20 Big Bash League match at the Adelaide Oval.
Doherty took 4 for 17 as the Hurricanes defended their total of 4 for 171.
The left-arm spinner took the wickets of both openers and then returned to take two more in the 19th over but he was quick to pay tribute to his batsmen for making a competitive total.
"It was a really good effort by the boys - when you've got 170 on the board you'll win more often than not. As a bowler you enjoy having that many runs to play with," Doherty told Grandstand.
"Coming in at the end, when they need 15 an over, it's always going to go one way or the other but the wickets at the top of the innings were important. We knew [Aiden] Blizzard was a key player for them so to get rid of him was nice.
"We're three from three now and we have that winning feeling. Winning does become a habit especially in Twenty20 when the competition is so even."
After Doherty won the toss, Phil Jacques (41) and Jonathan Wells (34) put on 64 for the first wicket but at a relatively sluggish scoring rate, before Travis Birt (44 off 26 balls) and Owais Shah (36 not out off 18) helped the visitors accelerate to their winning total.
Following the dismissal of Strikers' openers David Klinger and Blizzard, the middle order could not find its groove until Cameron Borgas (31) and Tom Cooper (43 not out from 27) put on a 62-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
Cooper gave the hosts hope with his big hitting, which included a big six onto the roof of the Chappell Stands.
Adelaide coach Darren Berry bemoaned the lack of support for Cooper at the end, as well as his side's inability to play Doherty.
"It came down to the last five overs - they got 66 off their last five and we could only manage 41," Berry said.
"It was a good game of cricket, but not good to be on the wrong side of it.
"We spoke about how we play Xavier Doherty and we certainly didn't execute that. He got 4 for 17, an outstanding performance.
"He's a really clever player in this format. We spoke about playing him straight down the ground and too many blokes got out playing across the line."
Hobart, an outsider at the start of the tournament, tops the table after winning all of its first three games.
The Strikers remain fourth with two points, ahead of Melbourne Stars and Perth Scorchers on net run rate.
Tags: twenty20, cricket, sport, adelaide-5000, sa, australia, tas, hobart-7000 First posted December 28, 2011 22:40:09