England star inspires Sangha's dream start

It sounds sacrilegious but Jason Sangha, one of the most hyped young Australian batting talents in recent memory, has England's Test captain to thank for his barnstorming KFC BBL entrance.

Showing maturity far beyond his 19 years on debut, Sangha led a stunning Sydney Thunder rear-guard to sink the Melbourne Stars on a wet Friday night in Canberra.

The Thunder were struggling to stay afloat in their season opener after their star-studded top four all exited before their total had reached triple figures.

But Sangha was completely unfazed, blasting 63 off just 36 deliveries to become the BBL’s youngest batsman to score a half-century and propel his side to a comfortable 15-run win on the Duckworth Lewis Method.

A Thunder fan since the club's inception in 2011, Sydney-born Sangha has been in awe watching star batsmen Joe Root, Jos Buttler and Shane Watson up close in recent weeks, but says Root's influence in particular has already been telling.

"Joe's been amazing," Sangha told cricket.com.au. "Joe's taken me under his wing and I've absolutely chewed his brain.

"I've just been watching those guys in the nets so much. Yesterday, those three were batting in the nets at the same time, I was just watching them and how they go about their innings.

"Joe's been great, so has 'Watto', so has Jos. All of those guys have given me a lot of information in terms of T20 cricket and how to go about it."

Root played a crucial part in settling Sangha's early nerves after the pair linked up in the ninth over of the match, but when the Englishman left the Thunder at 4-99 in the 13th over, the youngster was left with it all to do.

Four towering sixes followed as he calmly picked apart the Stars attack in a 77-run, 41-ball stand with close friend Daniel Sams (34 off 21 balls) to lift their side to 181.

The plaudits came thick and fast; Channel Seven’s Ricky Ponting praised his sharp footwork, particularly the quickness in his back-foot play to spin, while Fox Cricket’s Adam Gilchrist (cautiously) mentioned him in the same breath as Ponting himself.

"I was just soaking it all in really … I was batting with one of my idols Joe Root, so it couldn't really get better really for a BBL debut," Sangha said.

"I loved it. Joe was batting with me, he was just very calming, keeping my nerves down.

"I was just so excited. He was very good, we kept talking about making sure we go deep (into the innings).

"If we had wickets at the back end, we knew we had 'Samsy' … to come in with some firepower as well. All the boys made my job really easy."

Sangha has had to deal with intense expectation during every step of his fledgling cricket journey so far, but the level-headed right-hander has been anything but overawed.

This summer is fast becoming a breakout one; having given a glimpse of his talent in a tour match last season by becoming the youngest batsman since Sachin Tendulkar to score a century against England (against a team featuring Root, no less), he backed it up with a maiden Sheffield Shield hundred for NSW last month.

And in exciting news for Australia’s Test future, Sangha believes red-ball batting comes easier to him than the crash and bash of T20.

"I'm obviously very new to the (T20) game, I'm coming back from a lot of red-ball cricket as well,” he said. “T20 is a totally different game.

"With T20 cricket, it's always moving, sometimes it can be hard to stop and think about what you’re trying to do.

"I've been playing a lot of white-ball (cricket) in the pathways system (but) I'll say T20 is more of a challenge for me.

"But when you have a team like this who are really supportive, know exactly what they're trying to do and pass that information onto me, it makes my job really easy."

Sams, who himself starred on debut for the Thunder by collecting 3-5 in a player-of-the-match performance, has witnessed Sangha's rise first hand at NSW Premier (club) Cricket side Randwick-Petersham.

"He's just an unbelievable player… the way he batted today is no surprise to me," said the allrounder.

"When he's batting, he can access parts of the ground with power that a lot of batters can't. The way he can slice the ball but still have power is amazing.

"Standing at the other end is absolutely fantastic watching him bat. He's going to be someone to look out for."

And while many have been quick to compare Sangha to Ponting, Sams believes the teenager's style is more reminiscent of a former India Test star.

"I reckon they (Ponting and Sangha) are completely different players to be honest," he said.

"The way Jase uses his hands and manipulates the field backward of point, uses his wrist, it's that subcontinent player in him.

"Maybe like (VVS) Laxman."