Chadd Sayers

In a match against Queensland, he took a hat-trick to tear through Queensland's top order, the first player to take a hat-trick for South Australia since 1977.

Tim Ludeman also managed a stumping off of Sayers' bowling, a very unusual dismissal for a pace bowler.

Sayers also signed a contract to play for Twenty20 team the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League (BBL) for the first time.

Sayers had never played in the BBL and was considered a specialist in the longer forms of cricket.

Sayers was unable to play in the BBL and the rest of the Sheffield Shield season due to an ankle injury which required surgery.

Chadd James Sayers (born 31 August 1987) is a former Australian cricketer from South Australia.

In the 2006–07 season, Sayers was the leading wicket-taker in South Australian grade cricket, with 55 wickets at an average of 14.65, and he fell one point short of winning the Bradman medal for the best grade cricketer of the season.

As he was in good form in grade cricket, Sayers was given a rookie contract with South Australia's state team for the 2007–08 and 2008–09 seasons.

During these two seasons, he took an outstanding 90 wickets in grade cricket and recorded figures of 7/60 in a match for South Australia's Second XI, but he wasn't given any opportunities to play for South Australia and was dropped from their contract list in 2009.

Sayers considered moving interstate to seek opportunities at a higher level, but he stayed in South Australia and his form continued to improve.

He took 65 wickets in the 2010–11 season at an average of 8.63, won the Bradman Medal and was finally given the opportunity to play in a first-class match in a Sheffield Shield game against Tasmania.

He took two wickets on debut.

After spending several years in the South Australian Grade Cricket League as one of the best pace bowlers in the state, Sayers began playing first-class cricket for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield in 2011.

In 2011, Sayers was given his first full contract with South Australia.

He played two more games with South Australia in the 2011–12 Sheffield Shield season, including a five-wicket haul against Victoria, but he had his breakout season in 2012–13.

Despite missing almost a month of cricket due to a side strain, Sayers was the leading wicket-taker for the season with 48 wickets at an average of 18.52.

He won the Neil Dansie Medal for the best South Australian player of the season and finished just two points behind former Australian Test captain Ricky Ponting, to be second in the Sheffield Shield player of the year.

He played matches for Australia A from 2013, and played his only Test for Australia in the final Test of the 2017–18 tour of South Africa at Johannesburg, after years of near misses.

Sayers is a swing bowler who bowls with slower pace than most other bowlers in the modern era.

Despite his precision and consistency, his lack of pace has consistently been a barrier to selection for higher levels of cricket.

Sayers specializes in first-class cricket and does not play Twenty20s.

Sayers was included in an Australia A squad touring England in the 2013 season before the 2013 Ashes series.

This was his first opportunity to play on the international scene, and during the tour he took 11 wickets at an average of 11.54, leading his South Australian coach Darren Berry to say he was a front-runner to play in the Ashes.

He did not play in the 2013 Ashes in England, and though he was one of a number of pace bowlers in consideration to play in the 2013–14 Ashes series in Australia which he also did not play in.

Instead of making his Test debut, he played in the 2013–14 Sheffield Shield season, taking 36 wickets.

In 2014, he continued to play for Australia A, and impressed enough to be on track for national selection with a five-wicket haul against India A.

Sayers continued his good form in the first half of the 2014–15 Sheffield Shield season.

Sayers returned to domestic cricket in November 2015 to play in the 2015–16 Sheffield Shield season.

In his first match back, the second match of the season against Western Australia, he took the first three wickets of the match with the new ball.

His return from injury and return to form resulted in his selection in the Australian national team for the first time as he was selected in the 14-man Test squad for Australia's tour of New Zealand.

He was selected for the tour because it was expected the conditions would suit his style of swing bowling.

Though he was unable to make his Test debut, Sayers spent the time in New Zealand honing his skills with Australian fast bowling coach Craig McDermott and veteran Test bowler Peter Siddle.

He returned to Australia after the tour to finish off the Sheffield Shield season, and reached new career-best figures of 7/46 against Tasmania in a big innings victory.

Sayers had a good start to the 2016–17 Sheffield Shield season, taking eleven wickets in the second round in another innings victory over Tasmania.

He recorded the second-best bowling figures of his career in the first innings with 6/32 and followed it up with 5/44 in the second innings, including two wickets in the first over of the innings.

In November 2016, he was again added to Australia's Test squad ahead of the third Test against South Africa.

He did not play in the Test, but he was again included in the Australian squad for a match against Pakistan, which he also did not play in.

Sayers retired from first class cricket at the end of the 2020–21 season.

Sayers started his cricket career, after switching from baseball, playing grade cricket with Woodville Cricket Club.

Early on, he suffered from stress fractures in his back and was forced to play as a batsman, but he fought through his injuries to become a pace bowler and rise to Woodville's top-level team along with his brother Aaron.