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Opinion

Daniel Sams underlines all-round credentials and proves World Cup worth

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Expert
25th February, 2021
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In just his fourth T20 international, Daniel Sams underlined why his all-round game could play a significant role going forward for Australia.

Aside from some wayward moments with the ball in Thursday’s thriller against the Black Caps, Sams showed exactly why he could play a role at the World Cup later this year.

A 15-ball innings of 41 rightfully tops the list when assessing his performance in Dunedin.

Walking to the crease with the Aussies down and out at 6-113 chasing 220, Sams and Marcus Stoinis put on 92 off just 37 balls in the highest ever T20I seventh-wicket partnership.

Sams’ strike rate of 273.3 was also the highest ever for an Australian in a T20I innings (minimum 25 runs). The power with which he struck the ball is something that has been promised, but until recently, had rarely been delivered.

Two innings in the recent Big Bash season gave us a taste: a 65 not out off 25 balls and a 50 not out off 37 balls. But on a bigger stage against tougher bowling, Thursday’s innings gave real clarity of his ability.

Two other aspects of his game deserve underlining.

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The first was with the ball: after the Aussies leaked a costly 77 runs from overs 9 to 14, Aaron Finch threw Sams the ball and he put the brakes on the dangerous Martin Guptill before claiming his wicket just shy of a century.

The second was in the field: while it won’t feature on any highlights packages, Sams’ work as a sweeper in the outfield is superb. He moves extremely well and has an arm to rival Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell, rounding off his all-round game.

Of course, there’s still work to do.

After dismissing Guptill, Sams welcomed Jimmy Neesham to the crease with two slot-balls on the pads. Anyone who remembers the 2019 World Cup final super-over will recall that the rangy left-hander doesn’t mind it there.

Neesham promptly put both over the fence and turned the over into another expensive one.

In the final over, Sams again was wayward at points and finished with a waist-high full toss that was also dispatched, conceding 20 for the over.

So yes, he’s still raw. Yes, there are still kinks to iron out.

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But his ability in all three facets of the game gives the selectors plenty of flexibility when picking other specialists in the XI.

While he was at times off on Thursday, the larger sample size of his bowling (that is, within the BBL) shows he can be relied upon.

Daniel Sams

(Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)

Sams routinely bowls the first and 20th over, and anywhere in between when his captain needs a wicket.

When on-song, he can swing the ball back into the right-handers, while his pace-off (cutter) delivery is a real weapon.

Perhaps the biggest upside with Sams is that he is still improving. When you consider that just over three years ago he was mostly unknown in Australian cricket circles, his career trajectory has been quite incredible.

And it continues to travel upwards.

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Sams’ stint under Ricky Ponting at Delhi Capitals in the recent IPL undoubtedly has helped his batting, and given he was retained by the franchise they too see his upside.

“He’s a very, very powerful hitter of the ball. He hits the ball as far as anybody,” Ponting recently said during a BBL commentary stint.

Should he play a more permanent role in the upcoming IPL season, that could position him to play a role in the World Cup later this year on Indian soil.

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