England international Chris Jordan says the sky is the limit for Aaron Hardie, praising the Australian's special talents with both bat and ball.
Jordan, playing for the Hobart Hurricanes, cracked the equal fourth fastest BBL half-century at Optus Stadium on Wednesday night when he needed just 17 balls to reach the milestone.
Hardie (85no off 45 balls) was also a destructive force, cracking four fours and five sixes to help guide the Perth Scorchers to a nine-wicket victory.
Jordan saw Hardie close up while playing for the Scorchers in the 2019/20 summer, and they've also been part of the same Surrey set-up in England.
Hardie has already played one ODI and six T20s for Australia, and the 24-year-old is being tipped to break into the Test side down the track.
Jordan predicts a bright future for Hardie.
"The sky's the limit for him really," Jordan said.
"I had the pleasure of playing with him when I played for the Scorchers a few years ago.
"Even then you could see his natural ability with ball and bat and in the field.
"He took over the captaincy as well when Ashton Turner went off (injured on Wednesday night).
"So you can see what everyone here in WA thinks of him, and then he obviously backed it up with a top batting performance.
"And he can bowl you some overs as well.
"So that type of talent - those type of allrounders in the world - are definitely priceless."
Turner will undergo scans after injuring his right knee while bowling his first delivery.
It's the same knee he nursed through the off-season, with the soreness ruling him out of a Sheffield Shield match earlier this summer.
"I had a quick chat to him," Scorchers paceman Jason Behrendorff said.
"He's pretty confident and pretty hopeful that it's not too bad."
Behrendorff has taken a competition-leading seven wickets this BBL season, and he was named man of the match against Hobart for his 4-25.
The hot form has boosted the 33-year-old's hopes of being part of Australia's squad for the T20 World Cup in the US and West Indies in June.
It's definitely something that Behrendorff has an eye on.
"I'd be lying if I said no," he said.
"Anytime you get to play cricket for Australia, especially in a World Cup, is really special.
"I'd love to be involved in that squad, but I just need to keep taking wickets."
