Canberra [Asutralia], January 30 (ANI): Sydney Thunder all-rounder Daniel Sams has been cleared to play in the Big Bash League Knockout game against the Brisbane Heat.
Sams missed the last three matches for Thunder due to a hand injury. He suffered a bone and tendon injury in his right hand after he fell awkwardly while fielding the ball off his own bowling in the January 18 match against the Hobart Hurricanes at Manuka Oval.
“After being put through his paces at yesterday’s training session, Sams received the green light to play in tomorrow night’s pressure-packed match against the Heat in Canberra,” Thunder said in a statement.
“Dan is good to go, which is exciting for us. He trained fully yesterday and looked good, so he’ll come back into our team,” said Thunder’s coach Shane Bond.
Bond said he and assistant coaches Shawn Bradstreet and John Davison paid close attention to how Sams’ hand handled a tough session in the batting nets.
“His batting was the main thing we looked at. There’s always a couple of risks that are associated with an injured hand, so the main concern was his batting. The good news is he had no problems and is ready to go,” he said.
Sams’ return is a huge boost for Thunder as he was named as an X-factor in this summer’s BBL Team of the Tournament.
At the time of injuring his hand, he had captured 10 wickets with the ball. However, his batting has stepped up to another level this season with him scoring 199 runs at 49.75 — and with an impressive strike-rate of 191.
After making his debut for Australia’s T20I team in December, he has dominated the BBL with his big-hitting, and wicket-taking prowess.
Sams confirmed that based on how he felt during his net session the injury would not have any impact on his batting.
“There’s a little bit of awareness of pain. But, I’ll be able to go out there and bat as I usually would,” he said. (ANI)
