Sangha plots second part of impressive second coming

South Australia's Sheffield Shield final hero Jason Sangha feels he is developing the batting blueprint to help him transition from one-time wunderkind to domestic run machine as he prepares for Australia A's five-match series against Sri Lanka A in Darwin.

Sangha scored three hundreds in six Sheffield Shield matches last summer – the same number he managed for New South Wales in 37 games from 2018-23.

With three half-centuries to boot and a tally of 704 runs at 78.22, it was comfortably his best campaign since he entered the world of professional cricket as a 16-year-old in 2015, when he became the youngest-ever player to receive a state rookie contract.

The prolific form came after Sangha was dumped by Cricket NSW following the 2023-24 season, handed a career lifeline in Adelaide, and ultimately spent a year out of first-class cricket.

And it was those first few months in his new home city (during which he played just two games in the Dean Jones Trophy, but didn't bat in either) that proved pivotal in his second coming.

Far from rolling out the red carpet based purely on reputation, South Australia head coach Ryan Harris and his support staff, while welcoming, wanted their new recruit to work hard for an opportunity in the Shield side, which only came in round six after he also suffered a biceps injury.

"There was definitely some self-reflection during that time," Sangha tells cricket.com.au. "But I think the way I was eased into it was definitely the right way to go about it.

"At the time, it can be frustrating, but the communication during that process was really open and honest. Every time we were at training, there was a check-in to see how I was going, how I was fitting in, settling in. So it was more about the person first. Then the cricket side, it was the same as it always is – they just wanted me to go out and score runs in every Second XI game or grade game that I played in."

04:00 Play video Sensational Sangha delivers promise with Shield final century

Ultimately Sangha says it was less about weight of runs or a particular breakthrough knock, and more a moment of clarity in the nets that convinced him he was ready to seize his chance back in first-class cricket.

In late November, a fortnight after the biceps injury he suffered while bowling in the second of those one-dayers, he returned to the nets for a hit with assistant coach Mark Cosgrove. In the days prior, his mind had been "running so fast" as he contemplated another opportunity lost, and when his next one might come.

In the nets though, Sangha stopped thinking. About the noise. About his future. About his technique. About all bar one thing.

"I just remember 'Cossie' (Cosgrove) throwing to me," he says, "and I was just watching the ball, and hitting it."

After a while, the pair moved from throws to side arm. Sangha couldn't miss the middle of his bat. Cosgrove queried him: after a couple of weeks off, how had he returned to his best so quickly?

"And I said, 'Mate, it's funny you say that – I was literally just watching the ball'," he says. "And that was the moment. I thought: Maybe I should forget worrying about all the other random bullshit, and just see the ball and hit it."

01:18 Play video Sangha recounts fielding 'shocker' in epic SA Shield debut

Around 10 days later, Sangha posted 151 on the opening day of his Shield debut for South Australia. It was his highest first-class score, and together with his second-innings 61, a spectacular re-entry into the competition. In the 12 months between Shield games, there had been moments where his self-belief had wavered to the point that he had even wondered if he had a future in the game.

"I said in an interview (after the Shield final) that South Australia saved my life – they gave me a second chance," he says. "And not many people are that lucky to get a second chance, to be able to start again.

"South Australia threw me that lifeline … in some ways that's why I wasn't that fussed when I wasn't playing at the start of the year. I was like, it could be a lot worse for me, so I need to make sure that every game I do play for South Australia, I repay that."

Sangha, who will play both Australia A's 50-over and first-class matches against Sri Lanka A (he has also been named captain in the latter), credits an ego-free South Australian environment for much of his success. He feels that having level-headed teammates around him helps keep him level, and avoid the trap he had fallen into previously of holding on too tight as he rides the peaks and troughs of professional cricket.

02:08 Play video 'A sea of people coming at me': Manenti's Shield final memories

And the development of his batting – as the 'see ball, hit ball' theory suggests – has been about a winnowing away of complication. With Cosgrove and fellow SA batting coach Steve Stubbings, he has used his interstate move to begin anew.

"When I came to South Australia, I had a bit of a blank canvas to work from," he says. "So it was just having more of a simple approach. Sometimes as batters we can really dive into the technical aspects of our game a lot.

"I think I've always been a really good trainer, but I wanted to try and become a better player. And they're two different things. I definitely wasn't hitting as many balls as I used to and doing, like, 'junk miles'. I was keeping things pretty short and intense.

"And then it was just going out there and trying to score runs – doing what the team needs me to do and taking it session by session."

To that end, Sangha delivered. In the six Shield matches he played, South Australia went unbeaten, winning five. He made important contributions with the bat in all but one of those matches, including his instantly classic 126no in the fourth innings of the Shield final. In the process, and seemingly a lifetime on from the 'boy wonder' plaudits that had him at one point being compared with Sachin Tendulkar, he has learned a lot about the art of making runs.

"From a batting point of view, it's nice to have the reassurance – or potentially the confidence – to know that there is a method to the madness, that the blueprint does work," he says. "At the same time, I also understand that I'm not going to score a hundred every game that I play.

"I've just got a better understanding now of: 'Right, how do I actually go about training for a week, and preparing myself to play?' And when I'm out in the middle, understanding what may work, and what doesn't work.

"A lot of it is just confidence – knowing that I can do it. And it's also now a matter of, if things don't go to plan, knowing that there's no need to reinvent the wheel. It's just about staying really nice and level.

"Every game is a unique challenge, and for me, it's about how well I stay present in those moments, and how well can I sum up the situation? But it's nice now (having) some reassurance in my game that maybe I was searching for a year ago."

Australia A v Sri Lanka A series

July 4: First one-dayer, Marrara Cricket Ground, Darwin

July 6: Second one-dayer, Marrara Cricket Ground, Darwin

July 9: Third one-dayer, Marrara Cricket Ground, Darwin

July13-16: First four-day match, Marrara Stadium, Darwin

July 20-23: Second four-day match, Marrara Cricket Ground, Darwin

All matches live streamed on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app, and via Kayo Sports. All matches start 10:30am AEST.

Click here to read article