Perth Scorchers 5 for 182 (Marsh 100*, Evans 40, Ellis 2-33 ) beat Hobart Hurricanes 129 (McDermott 41, Mills 3-23, Agar 2-21, Tye 2-31) by 53 runs
Mitchell Marsh's hot streak continued when he smashed his first T20 ton as Perth Scorchers easily beat Hobart Hurricanes by 53 runs to remain the only undefeated team in the competition.
Both teams welcomed back a host of stars, but it was the imperious Marsh who shone brightest to power Scorchers (who now boast a 3-0 record for the season) to 5 for 182 after electing to bat first at Blundstone Arena.
Their brilliant attack then never let Hurricanes (1-2) into the contest with Scorchers debutant Tymal Mills starring as Perth vaulted to early title favouritsm.
Marsh sparkles in season debut
Cricket can be a great leveller. After smashing a brilliant century against Adelaide Strikers, where he rode a charmed existence, Colin Munro made a two-ball duck after tamely falling to ex-Scorchers quick Joel Paris.
Enter Marsh, who showed no signs of rust and continued his T20 World Cup form with a boundary off Scott Boland's first ball then clubbed a six into the long-on sightscreen. But his momentum was halted due to Scorchers losing regular wickets as they slumped to 4 for 74 in the 10th over.
He finally received support from new import Laurie Evans, who had little impact in the opening two matches but proved his worth with a quickfire 40. Impressively, the Englishman's knack of moving deep into the crease negated Boland's full-length bowling.
Even though he was swinging powerfully, Marsh couldn't quite get his timing right much to his frustration. That was until the 19th over when he belted a trio of sixes off spinner D'Arcy Short and then smashed another six in the final over to notch his first ever ton in the BBL.
Testament to his incredible striking, Marsh whacked 32 runs off his last nine balls to become just the fourth Scorchers player ever to score a hundred.
Paris' injury hurts Hurricanes' attack
Big things are tipped for Hurricanes, reinforced by a road victory over two-time champion Sydney Sixers. But there have been question marks over an attack missing Boland and speedster Riley Meredith.
Boland returned from Australia A duties but never quite recovered from Marsh's early onslaught and copped a late hammering from Evans.
Hurricanes faced an uphill battle after being shorthanded by a groin injury from in-form quick Paris, who left the field during his second over.
They hung in with Nathan Ellis performing admirably as skipper Matthew Wade relied on spinners Sandeep Lamichhane, Tim David and Short, who held up well until Marsh's late heroics.
Of concern for Hurricanes, however, will be the fitness of Paris who promised so much with the wicket of Munro. Even though he didn't appear to be in obvious discomfort, it will be a nervous wait for Paris who played two ODIs against India in 2016 before a horror run of injuries caused numerous stints on the sidelines.
Paris had started the season impressively to lead the shorthanded Hurricanes attack, but faces another injury scare.
Hurricanes' strong batting line-up fails to fire
Much like Munro, Wade couldn't replicate his blistering previous innings (93 against Sixers) as he fell in the opening over to Jason Behrendorff. Hurricanes slumped to 2 for 7 which brought to the crease Ben McDermott who returned from injury for his season debut.
He started slowly and was fortunate to be dropped on 22 by Kurtis Patterson before finding his range to ensure Hurricanes earned the Bash Boost point. With Short also getting going, Hurricanes had the Scorchers attack under pressure until McDermott fell in the 10th over to shift the momentum.
Hurricanes then fell away badly against an unrelenting Scorchers attack with all of their bowlers claiming a wicket at least.
Even though they look well stocked, Hurricanes appear to rely heavily on Wade's pyrotechnics at the top.
Mills adds to Scorchers' deep attack
Scorchers are absolutely loaded, particularly with pace depth. The inclusion of Mills meant Scorchers had to drop Matt Kelly, who was player of the match against Brisbane Heat with 4 for 28.
They also have speedster Lance Morris in their squad, but Mills justified his selection instantly with a gem of a yorker to trap Caleb Jewell on the toe dead in front.
The ex-Hurricanes player didn't come back on until the 10th over, where he grabbed the key scalp of McDermott in a game-turning moment. England's T20 World Cup star claimed one more wicket to cap a dream season debut and add to Scorchers' enviable bowling options.
