Super Sams sets sights on key duel with Stars duo

Daniel Sams wants to add Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell to his unprecedented KFC BBL wicket tally in next week's Qualifier final with the prolific paceman suggesting the Melbourne Stars are heavily reliant on the star duo.

The crafty Sams, who Peter Siddle likened to Andrew Tye, increased his season wicket count to 30 against the Adelaide Strikers on Saturday as underdogs Sydney Thunder continued their spirited pursuit of a second BBL title.

The left-arm quick delivered a clutch penultimate over, taking two wickets and conceding just five runs, to see the Sydney Thunder win by eight runs and knock off a higher-ranked finals opponent away from home for the second time in three days.

The in-form Thunder can ensure a second straight BBL season with cross-town rivals in the BBL decider if they can knock off the battling Melbourne Stars in the Qualifier final at the MCG.

Stoinis wears the other BKT Golden Cap for topping the run-scoring charts, while Maxwell has had several moments of brilliance during the tournament.

But the regular-season's standout team have struggled to find top-order contributions during the four-game losing streak they will carry into Thursday's knockout clash with the Thunder.

"I think they are (reliant on those two)," Sams told reporters after the Thunder's final-over victory at Adelaide Oval.

"With 'Maxi', he's someone who's hard to tie down, he can hit it wherever he wants. Key to beating the Stars is getting 'Stoin' and 'Maxi' out. How we do that, we'll have a look at that during the week and see how we go about it.

"They (Stoinis and Maxwell) have been their bankers. We'll just stick to our plans for each of our batters."

Sams however remains wary of Nic Maddinson, who has averaged just 11 in 12 innings for the Stars this season, and Nick Larkin, who struck a career-best 65 off 45 balls in the first of the Stars' two wins over the Thunder this summer.

"They have very good batters throughout their line-up," said Sams. "Larko (Nick Larkin) has been batting really well, (Nic) Maddinson is a bit of a wildcard.

"He hasn't struck them this tournament yet but he can smack them and I've witnessed that first hand. You don't know what you're going to get.

"You could say that (the Stars are vulnerable), you could also say they are due. It just depends how you look at it.

"We're not going to go into the game thinking they're on a losing streak or anything like that because they've got amazing players. (Paceman Haris) Rauf is back as well, they're a world-class team."

The Thunder only scraped into the finals by holding onto fifth spot when the Brisbane Heat flopped in their final game of the regular season against the Melbourne Renegades.

But the red-hot form of Alex Hales, player of the match against the Strikers with his fifth half-century in eight games, and their unheralded bowling attack, featuring just one bowler with considerable international experience (South African Chris Morris), has stood up under pressure in finals against the Hobart Hurricanes and the Strikers.

"On paper we see it as a very strong bowling attack," said Sams. "That's what gets us through. As a unit we talk about what we want to do and we 100 per cent commit to that."

Sams, who played six games for the Sixers in BBL07 before crossing to the Thunder, has led their attack with aplomb in just his second full BBL season with a bowling average of 14 and an economy rate of 7.65 through 16 games.

He admit he “100 per cent” has thought about the upcoming T20 World Cup and Siddle, whose superb BBL season continued as he collected 2-21 off his four overs to keep the Thunder to 7-151, said he has the potential to match it with the best.

"His season has been outstanding, he's continually taken wickets and in T20 cricket that's what you want to do, that's what builds pressure," Siddle said of Sams.

"He could be a world-beater or get found out (in international cricket). AJ Tye is a similar example, the way they go about their cricket. He hasn't been able to find it at the international level.

"But different bowlers. There's a lot that can be said about having a left-arm variety in the line-up. I don't bat a lot but I have faced him a few times now. He's hard to face, … His variations is what makes it hard for you.

"He's given his team a chance. People have probably counted them out of a lot of games and probably didn't think they would be where they are."