Scorchers dream big as unlikely finals bid gathers pace

Fresh from signing a three-year extension, star Perth Scorchers allrounder Aaron Hardie has set his sights on helping his team land an unlikely KFC BBL|14 finals berth.

The Scorchers' finals hopes appeared dead and buried after their fourth loss on the trot – a disastrous 61-run defeat to Sydney Thunder on Monday – left them nursing a 3-6 record with just one match to play.

But with three other results falling their way in recent days, the seventh-placed Scorchers (6 points) are remarkably still a sniff of snaring a top-four spot.

For that to happen, they need the last-placed Renegades (6 points) to defeat the fifth-placed Brisbane Heat (7 points) in Melbourne on Saturday night.

The Scorchers will then need to beat the sixth-placed Adelaide Strikers (6 points) later that night in Perth.

The final part of the equation would require the ladder-leading Hobart Hurricanes (15 points) to defeat the fourth-placed Stars (8 points) in the final match of the home-and-away season in Melbourne on Sunday.

To put it simply there's still hope, and Scorchers players will be keeping a close eye on the Renegades-Heat match while warming up for their own game.

"When we play the later games at Optus, the TV is always on in the change rooms and we're watching the game before," Hardie said.

"So it will be the exact same on Saturday.

"We know that game has got a bit more on the line (for us). I think our team and the rest of the stadium will be watching."

Mitch Marsh will again be rested on despite the Scorchers' finals hopes on the line, and Hardie is backing paceman Jason Behrendorff to bounce back strongly from his 1-53 return against the Thunder.

"He's one of the blokes every time you catch yourself looking at his numbers, you pinch yourself," Hardie said.

"Every time he gets the new ball in his hands, we as a team stand taller."

Under the BBL's new rules, any player not contracted by Sunday will become a free agent for 10 days.

The Scorchers have already locked away the likes of Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner, Finn Allen, Hardie, Cooper Connolly, Mahli Beardman, Josh Inglis, Lance Morris and Matt Kelly, but the futures of Behrendorff, AJ Tye and Ashton Agar are still up in the air.

Hardie said he was always keen to re-sign with the Scorchers, and he has finals well and truly on his mind.

"We're desperate to make the finals still," he said. 

"I got in trouble, last night – I was watching a movie at home and kept checking the cricket (to make sure Hobart beat Brisbane).

"We're all following very closely. We still have massive belief in the group."

KFC BBL|14 standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Total points PTS
1 Hobart Hurricanes Men HUR	9	7	1	0	1	0.135	0	15
2 Sydney Sixers Men SIX	10	6	2	0	2	0.156	0	14
3 Sydney Thunder Men THU	10	5	3	0	2	0.34	0	12
4 Perth Scorchers Men SCO	10	4	6	0	0	0.219	0	8
5 Melbourne Renegades Men REN	10	4	6	0	0	0.139	0	8
6 Melbourne Stars Men STA	9	4	5	0	0	-0.073	0	8
7 Brisbane Heat Men HEA	10	3	6	0	1	-0.831	0	7
8 Adelaide Strikers Men STR	10	3	7	0	0	-0.122	0	6

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

PTS: Total points