Toil hands Manenti his grand BBL entrance

The Sydney Sixers expected big things from Ben Manenti but the off-spinner who idolises Nathan Lyon exceeded all expectations, earning the player-of-the-match honours on debut for his match-turning spell at Marvel Stadium.

After finding out only an hour before play he'd been picked in the final XI, Manenti displayed the composure of a veteran in conceding just 13 from his four overs and claiming the key wickets of the Melbourne Renegades' two top scorers.

His figures, the most economical ever returned by a KFC BBL debutant and the best by a first-gamer in Australia since Glenn McGrath’s 1-11 per statistician Ric Finlay, were even more impressive considering the Sixers were only defending 132.

"It's a bit surreal," said Manenti. 

"It hasn't really sunk in yet. It was awesome to contribute in a win." 

A stout 21-year-old who didn't seriously take up spin bowling until he started playing Premier Cricket, Manenti's unassuming style doesn't immediately catch the eye.

But his accuracy and skill were evident on Sunday evening, with the first-gamer combining with veteran Stephen O'Keefe to engineer a Renegades collapse of 4-17 across the space of 28 balls to effectively sink the home side.

While hugely impressed by his fellow spinner's cool head under pressure, O'Keefe said the performance was far from a surprise.

"The way he hit the wicket - his lengths were outstanding and his pace was really good," O'Keefe told cricket.com.au.

"I guess now we expect that – these guys are playing a lot of T20 cricket at academy level. Of course, it's a bit different under lights but we pick him because we expect him to do well right from game one. 

"To see him do well isn't a surprise to us. 

"He's really cool out there under pressure, didn't ask too many questions, just backed himself and come away with the goods."

Like Lyon’s, Manenti's path to the top flight has been characterised by hard toil. 

Three years of strong returns for Sydney Cricket Club in NSW Premier Cricket, including a 54-wicket golden summer last season, saw him earn an opportunity at Futures League level with the ACT on the back of a strong recommendation from former Test keeper Brad Haddin.

He also spent three winters abroad playing club cricket in Sussex honing his craft, with Manenti crediting the stints for helping him figure out how to identify issues without the help of constant coaching.

"I learnt a bit," he said. "It's good to go away and almost learn by myself and have no one to lean on."

His hard graft has materialised in other ways. 

The son of a former first-grade rugby front-rower, Manenti is strongly-built and after returning from a stint in the United Kingdom overweight, he shed nearly 20 kilograms with the help of fitness trainer Tom Carter.

It was through Carter that Manenti first got the chance to meet Lyon, whom he credits, along with O'Keefe, as major influences.

"(O'Keefe) has been really good. I've known him for a little while now, he's just such a smart bowler. I've tried to be a sponge and take everything I can from him," said Manenti.

"I've done a bit of work with Nathan, not in the past 12 months, but I've done a bit of work with him and he's pretty good to work with

"It (off-spin) is a bit of a dying art, so it's good to see someone like Nathan and Steve as well bring it back to life is really good."  

And with Australia's Test series against India set to wrap up early in the new year, Manenti could get his chance to work on his craft – and potentially play - alongside Australia's greatest ever off-spinner in the coming weeks.

"What spinner in New South Wales doesn’t have an idol in Nathan Lyon?" continued O'Keefe, whose two 2-19 saw him leap to the top of BBL's leading wicket takers list.

"I know 'Gazza' (Lyon) is very giving of his time and hopefully now cementing his spot in this team (Manenti) will able to spend a bit of time with Gazza when he's around. 

"He's a little star on the rise for us."