Sydney Thunder quick Daniel Sams has produced the innings of his cricket career by spearheading the BBL franchise to an extraordinary comeback victory over Brisbane Heat.
The Thunder secured a memorable four-wicket win with seven balls to spare at Canberra’s Manuka Oval thanks to a destructive 69-run partnership from Sams and former Heat all-rounder Ben Cutting (29).
The Thunder were 5-80, chasing 179 to win, when Sams came to the crease, but his power-hitting got them to 6-180 and a stunning win.
More known for his bowling, Sams rescued the Thunder with his unbeaten 65 from 25 balls — his first BBL half-century — in a knock that included seven sixes.
The 28-year-old brought up his 50 from 23 balls — the fastest by a Thunder player — and crushed three consecutive sixes to seal the unlikely triumph on Monday night.
Sams said the Thunder refused to panic despite a disastrous start to their chase of the Heat’s 6-178, which was sparked by captain Chris Lynn’s trademark 69 off 44.
“You lose a few wickets in the powerplay and you get a bit rattled but I think we pride ourselves on being calm and we have a deep batting line-up,” he said.
“[I just wanted to] give myself a chance not to get another duck. Just kind of hit them around for a little bit, good cricket shots and then take it deep.”
The Heat appeared to be cruising towards their first win of the tournament after all-rounder Jack Wildermuth ripped through the top order.
A day after a century for Australia A, Wildermuth dismissed English star Alex Hales and Thunder captain Callum Ferguson to have the Sydney franchise reeling at 2-1 at the end of the first over.
The Queenslander produced a whirlwind late cameo with the bat, backing up Lynn’s heroics to put the Heat in a promising position.
But Cutting and Sams had other ideas, belting the Heat bowling which Australian legend Ricky Ponting described as “pathetic”.
Earlier, a socially distant Lynn got the Heat’s night off to the right start, putting aside some pre-match controversy.
The star number three and Englishman Dan Lawrence were forced into separate change rooms for the game and away from their teammates after breaching BBL COVID-19 protocols.
The pair were given the all-clear to play against the Thunder despite Cricket Australia investigating them for having close contact with members of the public on Saturday night.
AAP
