Australia allrounder will be available for first eight games of group stage

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Feb-2024Essex have re-signed Daniel Sams, the Australia allrounder, for this year’s Vitality T20 Blast. He is expected to be available for the first block of eight games between May and June.Sams, 31, will be returning to Chelmsford for the third summer in a row, having won the Blast MVP award while helping Essex to finish as runners-up last season.”We’re obviously delighted to have re-signed Daniel for the Blast this year,” Essex’s head coach, Anthony McGrath, said. “He showed us in no uncertain terms what he’s capable of last summer, and he was an instrumental part of our team, so we’re looking forward to seeing him again for the first block of T20 games.”Sams topped the lists for runs and wickets with Essex in 2023 and came close to getting his side over the line in the final, last man out for 45 off 26 in a 14-run defeat to Somerset.Although he has won 10 T20I caps for Australia, his most recent appearance came in 2022 and he is not expected to be involved in the World Cup, which takes place in the Caribbean and USA in June. He is, however, only available for the first half of the Blast group stage, due to a clash with Major League Cricket, which kicks off on July 4.”I’m really excited to be heading back to Essex, especially after the year we had in 2023,” Sams said. “Chelmsford is a great ground, filled with really passionate fans, and you feel that energy from the stands when they’re packed out under the floodlights.”I loved being able to contribute to the success we had last season, and the team, in my opinion, is good enough to have a strong chance of going one better and lifting some silverware.”