SO much for the theory that Jason Sangha is a "red-ball specialist".
With a minimum of fuss and not the slightest hint of attitude, the 22-year-old from Newcastle has proven a point to whoever was responsible for him spending the best part of three years watching the Big Bash League from the other side of the boundary rope.
The former Australian under-19 captain made his BBL debut for Sydney Thunder in 2018-19, becoming the youngest player in the tournament's history to post a half-century.
He finished that campaign with an average of 22.5 from 10 innings, and then did not play a single game for the next two seasons.
The portents did not appear bright when he was overlooked for the first three games in this edition, before he was eventually recalled for the December 19 showdown with Brisbane Heat, a full 1051 days since his previous appearance.
Batting at No.3, the former Wallsend and Toronto junior peeled off 39 from 28 balls and within a matter of weeks had transformed himself into a T20 run machine.
When he was dismissed on Sunday night, for 61 off 43 balls in the Thunder's elimination semi-final loss to Adelaide, Sangha's numbers spoke for themselves.
In 12 games, he had scored 445 runs at an average of 49.44 and a strike rate of 132. From the 337 balls he faced, he hit 36 fours and 13 sixes.
Only Hobart's Ben McDermott (577), Adelaide's Matt Short (487) and Melbourne Stars maestro Glenn Maxwell (468) scored more runs than Sangha, and all played in more games.
Throw in four wickets at an average of 18.50 with his legspinners, and it was no surprise that Sangha was named on Monday in the BBL team of the tournament. He didn't make the starting XI, instead being named as one of two "X-factor" super subs.
But perhaps more importantly, he has proven to himself - and the men who pick the teams - that he can handle himself more than capably in the shortest format of all.
Afterwards, Sangha's overriding emotion was frustration that the Thunder, well placed when he and Alex Ross (56) were sharing a 90-run stand, fell six runs short of Adelaide's tally of 184-6 and bowed out of the race for the title.
"My job is to make sure I'm there at the end and get the job done, so I'm pretty disappointed in my efforts, to be honest," he said after the game.
"But that's cricket sometimes. It's got a funny way of humbling you sometimes when you think you're a bit bigger than the game.
"I probably got myself a bit ahead of the game there, and it cost me in the end."
Sangha should now get a chance to catch his breath before rejoining the NSW squad for the rest of their Sheffield Shield and Marsh Cup (50-over) seasons, which will resume in February.
He also shapes as a potential bolter for Australia's T20 side, if not for the five-game series against Sri Lanka starting on February 11, then possibly for a three-match series against New Zealand in March, while the Test squad is touring Pakistan.
BBL TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT: Ben McDermott, Josh Philippe (wk), Joe Clarke, Mitch Marsh, Matt Short, Moises Henriques, Daniel Sams, Rashid Khan, Hayden Kerr, Andrew Tye, Peter Siddle (capt). X-factor substitutes: Sean Abbott, Jason Sangha.
