SYDNEY Thunder leg-spinner Jono Cook attributes the ability to simply back himself as the key to his success with the ball in the 2019-2020 Big Bash League finals series.
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Playing in his first-ever BBL final in Hobart on January 30, Cook took his best-ever short-form bowling figures of 4-21 off four overs.
The 30-year-old Port Macquarie product claimed the prized scalps of Hurricanes openers Matt Wade and D'Arcy Short as the Thunder cruised to a 57-run victory.
Wade was coming off the back of an impressive century in the Hurricanes' previous match, but Cook remained calm under pressure.
"I was confident in my plans (to Wade), but that doesn't mean I was confident about getting him out," he said.
"It's an added bonus when you get the wickets of the likes of those guys who are quality batters and some of the best in Australia, if not the world."
Two days later, Cook backed up his Hobart heroics with another impressive spell of 2-16 off four overs that included Adelaide Strikers duo Travis Head and Rashid Khan.
But he didn't want to take all the credit for the plans that had been created by the entire bowling group.
It's an added bonus when you get the wickets of the likes of those guys who are quality batters and some of the best in Australia, if not the world.
- Jono Cook
"It's not just me, it's our whole bowling unit who are doing a lot of research and work behind the scenes to make sure our plans are tailored to each of those batters," he said.
"We're hitting our straps; we played really well down in Hobart and it's probably the first game we've strung together 40 overs of really good, solid cricket.
"It's the brand of cricket we want to play."
Cook admitted he had noticed the change in atmosphere from regular season fixtures to finals matches, but captain Callum Ferguson had tried to keep things as normal as possible.
An ability to remain composed under pressure provided the key to the Thunder's victory in Adelaide, despite the hosts requiring 37 runs off the final 31 balls with seven wickets in hand.
Ferguson's runout of Alex Carey proved the pivotal moment of the match as the Thunder claimed a remarkable victory against all the odds.
"Even when they got on top of us with Carey and Wells, we knew if we broke that partnership you never know," Cook said.
You've seen it so many times where panic does set in with the batting side and we thought we were always in the game.
- Jono Cook
"You've seen it so many times where panic does set in with the batting side and we thought we were always in the game if we kept things tight and kept getting the valuable wickets."
The Thunder now know they can win from any position.
"It was the runout that changed things for us and there were ebbs and flows along the way, but we always knew we were in the game."
A fifth-place finish meant the Thunder missed the finals last year, but they were hopeful of keeping their momentum all the way to Saturday's final.
"Everyone's really excited this year; we've got that enthusiasm, energy and intensity that we've been able to bring to the games," Cook said.
"We're making sure we're calm, composed and backing our ability on the night."
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