By David Polkinghorne
Perth Scorchers quick Jason Behrendorff might be knocking on the door of the Australian team, but the man charged with returning Western Australia to a fast bowling production line feels he is still 12 to 18 months away from his best.
That doesn't mean Behrendorff isn't dangerous now though, with Sydney Sixers wicketkeeper Ryan Carters tipping the former Tuggeranong opening bowler to be a "massive key" to the Big Bash League final at Manuka Oval on Wednesday.
Jason Behrendorff has taken 14 wickets in nine matches during the 2014/15 Big Bash League season.Credit: Getty Images
Former Tasmanian bowler Adam Griffith is the Scorchers bowling coach, joining the West Aussie side four years ago, not long after Behrendorff made the move west from Canberra.
Griffith has not only played a role in developing Behrendorff, but also helping Aussie tearaway Mitchell Johnson get his career back on track.
He felt Behrendorff was unlucky to miss out on the Aussie World Cup squad and was one of the top five or six quicks in the country.
The 24-year-old Canberran is one of the leading wicket-takers in this summer's BBL with 14 and he took the second-most wickets in last season's Sheffield Shield.
But Griffith felt there was still room for improvement.
"He was pretty close [to the World Cup squad], he's one of about five or six bowlers that are going really for Australian cricket at the moment, but his time will come," he said.
"He's very talented and he's getting bigger and stronger all the time and he's probably got another 12 to 18 months to go before he gets to where he'd like to be physically I reckon."
Wednesday's BBL final is something of a rematch of last summer's Sheffield Shield final, which was also held at Manuka.
Behrendorff was part of the WA side, while Nathan Lyon and Carters were part of the victorious NSW one.
Carters said he'll have the best seat in the house to watch Brett Lee from, with the Aussie great retiring after Wednesday's final.
While the curtain is closing on Lee's career, Behrendorff's just starting to take off and Carters is expecting his former ACT Comets teammate to be a key figure in the BBL final.
The duo will play their third final against each other at Manuka, having also played an ACT grade final there in addition to last year's Shield final, with Carters having won both.
"[Behrendorff] is a massive key, he's been a standout bowler in the tournament, similar to last year," Carters said.
"What he does is hit good areas and get good bounce and swing early on and very few batsmen have managed to take him down so far.
"I think the battle between Behrendorff and our top-order batsmen will be a very crucial one."
Carters is also hoping his charity Batting For Change can break the $100,000 barrier during the BBL final, which raises money to put Indian women through university with every six hit during the tournament.
His original target was $66,000, but they've already raised $84,000 going into the final game.