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.
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.
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.
(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.
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.
Paul
Roar Guru
Assuming your right, this tour is a great place for him to either get over his nerves or for Finch and the Aussie brains trust to work out how to maximise his bowling. Your suggestion of getting his overs done and dusted before the last big push makes sense. I'd also hope we'd be using guys like Cummins, Hazlewood, etc in those last few overs when we play our best team, given their experience in this format.
maverick
Roar Rookie
He gets nervous at the death. He bowls his first 3 overs relatively well and then concedes 16 or 17 in the last over. He bowls really well with the new bowl and does a decent job after first six overs as well. He should finish his overs by 16 or 17 overs max. It’s worth mentioning he will play with a duo of big three and Jhye or dorff for that matter. So, it should not be his job to bowl those tough overs considering he has to focus on his batting as well.
U
Roar Rookie
He’s nothing special. A bits and pieces player who isn’t a good enough bowler or batsmen to he picked on one alone
James
Roar Rookie
A new James Faulkner
Paul Saikia
Guest
though it's only early days into his fledgling career but he tends to leak runs in the death overs as was the case in the recently concluded T20I series vs India where Hardik Pandya whacked him for 2 consecutive sixes to seal the series in the second T20I. But having said that he looks a good prospect for the long run and should be persisted with.
Wes P
Roar Rookie
Daniel has ability. He's a T20 discovery. Given Starcs issues he deserves a look.
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
We don't need more t20 stars we need more test stars.
13th Man
Roar Rookie
Is he good enough as a bowler? Seems to always go at 10 plus an over.. yes he can whack a long rock and could be a good finisher but he needs to be able to be more threatening with the ball.
Ben
Guest
"...going forward". (Eye-roll)....
Sportstragic
Roar Rookie
Geez that's a bit harsh! Did you read the article?
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Great innings, but if we rely on someone coming in at no.7 or 8 we're in trouble. His bowling is what really counts, and he’s bowling too many loose balls - went for more runs than anyone than Stoinis. Looks a bit too hittable for World Cup standard, though the Richardsons weren’t much better.
Tim Carter
Roar Pro
Pretty new to the team re- first double figure score
Paul
Roar Guru
I like your cautious optimism David. Sams clearly has talent and obviously Ponting, who I reckon is a very good judge of T20 cricketers, thinks he has something. Still early days as you say and he's had a tough initiation in his first 4 games, playing against India in two and the Black Caps at home. Hopefully he keeps improving, especially his bowling. It's great having a bloke who can make 40 off 15 balls, batting at 8, but he also needs to do better than 10 an over with his bowling.
Tempo
Roar Rookie
Good analysis David. Sams is a quickly improving T20 cricketer with lots of potential. I think his style of bowling will always be a little hit and miss - he's the sort of player who will take wickets but sometimes be expensive. He suits the current Australian side well because there are lots of bowling options if he's having a bad day. His batting has been the big plus this season. I don't think I've ever seen someone's batting improve so much in the space of one season. He was a genuine bunny last season and now he is smashing it and has been amazingly consistent for a finisher. Next test for him is how he goes against high quality spin, but he's potentially becoming a good option for that No.6 or 7 finishing role. One of the few players in Australian cricket who can hit sixes from ball 1.
qwetzen
Roar Rookie
Rightttt. An ordinary bowler slogs 40, his first innings in double figures, in a losing cause and suddenly he's going to the WC?
Riccardo
Roar Rookie
Good call David; the young man has talent. He had a couple of good moments in Christchurch as well. Yesterday was a gutsy knock in support of the much maligned Stoinis too. They almost did it too...