Thunder skipper Chris Green has described nice mate Daniel Sams as “the ultimate team man” after the big-hitting all-rounder’s man of the match efficiency lifted the facet to a slender win over the Heat that has them again in finals competition.
It was a tough begin to the event for the Thunder with gamers getting injured, one other had his contract torn up and so they needed to cope with on area struggles that noticed them bowled out for an embarrassing 15 by the Strikers.
But they’ve now received back-to-back video games over Brisbane to maneuver inside one win of high spot on the BBL ladder, and lots of credit score has to go to Sams.
The 30-year-old confirmed why he’s performed on the worldwide stage, hammering an unbeaten 36 off simply 15 deliveries in a vital knock that proved telling within the Thunder’s 11-run win after Colin Munro smashed 98 within the chase.
It was a far cry from the person who scored simply 10 runs in his first three knocks of the season the place he gave the impression to be holding again the aggression that noticed him whack an unbeaten 98 off 44 final season.
“Any time he’s overdue in runs, it makes him more and more dangerous for opposition,” Green mentioned.
“He came in and played an absolutely quality knock for us to get up to a really formidable total that put the Heat under pressure from the word go.
“I thought Colin Munro – full credit to him – was absolutely outstanding and batted all the way through and nearly took them over the line. But Sams’ knock took the game away from the opposition. It was crucial in getting us over the line.”
Sams then took two wickets and held onto the catch to take away Munro within the last over to cap his unimaginable evening.
“He’s the ultimate team man,” Green mentioned.
“He’s always the guy who’s looking to put the team first and go out there and play the role that’s required for the team whether that’s taking the game on and taking risks (with the bat) in our favour, and same with the ball.
“I throw him into the hard overs so he bowls in the surge a lot, he bowls at the death and he takes it on the chin. He gets hit at times but that’s the nature of T20 cricket.
“There are so many games where he comes up clutch for us and he’s gone from strength to strength every year. I’m stoked to have him in the team.”
The Thunder are actually as much as six competitors factors forward of the New Year’s Eve conflict in opposition to the Hurricanes in Albury, the place Green is hoping to see loads of inexperienced within the crowd.
“They’re playing really good cricket at the moment,” he mentioned of the Hurricanes.
“They’re always one of the form teams in this competition and they’ve got some dangerous players with both bat and ball. We know going down there that we’ve got to be on our ‘A’ game to continue this winning run.
“We’d like to turn it into a home venue for us and get a little hometown bias in our favour with the crowd.”
