Before Daniel Sams became a Big Bash six-hitting sensation, he used to be up at 4.30am every morning and spend almost 18 hours a day juggling a potential cricket career with full-time work.
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A day after the Sydney Thunder all-rounder blasted an unbeaten 65 off just 25 balls to secure an unlikely win over the Brisbane Heat, Sams revealed the exhausting lifestyle he was pursuing barely three years ago in the hope of one day playing the sport professionally.
While playing grade cricket in Sydney, Sams would wake up before dawn every morning, haul himself and his cricket gear onto public transport and head for Circular Quay where he worked at a gym running personal training sessions.
Whenever he had a break, he'd do his own gym work, then head off to cricket training at the end of every day.
"I'd be waking up at 4.30 in the morning, jumping on a train with my cricket kit, doing classes, having my own personal training stuff in between classes, and going to the SCG to train in the afternoon," Sams said.
"I'd be getting home at eight, nine pm and redoing it.
"It was kind of one of those seasons in my life where I look back on it and be like I don't know how I did that, I wouldn't be able to do that now. I was just really driven, and really really wanted it and did what I had to do."
His unwavering dedication paid off, and turning professional has let him unlock the ability he always knew he had.
"Just being able to solely focus on that and not having to earn a crust to be able to pay rent - it's really fast-tracked my development," Sams said.
"That's part of the reason why I've been able to have success in such a short period of time.
"It just gives me more time and more focus to be able to fine tune everything. I haven't really necessarily started bowling any different deliveries than what I have before but everything's become more effective because I've been able to fine tune it.
"My execution has just become more consistent."
Sams made his first-class debut for Canterbury in New Zealand in 2017, before earning a Big Bash gig at the Sydney Sixers.
After one season he crossed town and blossomed at the Thunder, and earlier this month made his international T20 debut for Australia.
It's with the ball he's made a name for himself - Sams took 30 wickets in last season's Big Bash and already has four to his name in the competition this summer.
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But on Monday it was his class with the bat that earned the Thunder a much-needed win at Manuka Oval.
Chasing 179 for victory against the under-manned Heat, Sams entered the fray with his side floundering at 5-80 in the 11th over before clubbing seven sixes in a match-winning knock.
Thunder coach Shane Bond has long admired Sams' batting, and the 28-year-old has now shown why.
"It's been something that's been a little bit frustrating for me," Sams said about his lack of recent runs before Monday's superb performance.
"Not having the performances that I would've liked over the last few years at that higher level has made me really kind of look inwards to figure out why that is.
"The skill is there and I think it was just kind of the mental side of it, and overcoming the situation that you're in when you're batting. I find that a little bit easier to do when you're bowling and I've had to work with that on my batting."
Sams said Bond had played a significant role in improving him as a cricketer since joining the Thunder.
"As soon as he became coach of the Thunder, he's been fantastic," Sams said.
"I really get on with him, he's very forward, he's very clear and for lack of a better term he's very blunt. He'll tell you how it is - we're all professionals, I think we should be good at dealing with that.
"I really thrive under that, he's very good at communicating, he's very concise in what he says and he's backed me as a player since day one, especially with the bat.
"Even through last year there's never been any panic, there's never been any 'We're going to drop you down the order', it's always just been 'We back what you do, we know what you're capable of and we're just going to back you'."
The Thunder will now enjoy a week off before resuming their campaign against the Perth Scorchers on December 22.
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
