Toby Gray ready to seize his chance with Sydney Thunder in BBL

Gray, the 21-year-old leg spinner who played with Belmont in the Newcastle district competition, made an impressive start to his Sheffield Shield career in November, taking 3-58 and 0-46 in NSW's loss to Western Australia at the SCG.

That performance, plus a back injury to Tanveer Sangha, earned Gray a call-up to the Thunder squad as a "local replacement player".

While the Novocastrian did not feature in the Thunder's starting XI in their first seven games of the tournament - and was unsure if he would be required for last night's clash with Perth Scorchers at Optus Stadium - he has certainly made an impact at substitute fielder.

After initially coming on as replacement when fellow Newcastle junior Jason Sangha suffered a shoulder injury in the recent loss to Melbourne Renegades, a few nights later Gray took two catches in the space of three balls to help Thunder clinch a victory against Brisbane Heat.

"It's been able to great to get on the field in multiple games now, and I guess get that out of the way and experience what it's like in that environment," Gray said.

"So at the moment I'm just trying to get out there as much as I can.

"I've always enjoyed fielding and I know I'm pretty good at it, so to be able to get out and show my skills has been a lot of fun."

Gray said his rise to professional cricket this season had probably happened "a bit quicker than I expected", but he was relishing the experience.

With world-class spinners Chris Green and Usman Qadir in the Thunder squad, Gray was realistic about his position in the pecking order.

"We have a couple of injuries at the moment, which could open up chances for squad members to play," he said.

"I'm not sure when I'll get a chance. Hopefully at some stage they might choose to play three spinners.

"There are conditions around Australia that could suit that, but for now it's just a matter of doing what I can and waiting for a chance."

Bowling against the big hitters of the BBL will be in stark contrast to trying to outwit four-day specialists with a red ball.

"They're very different games, especially as a spinner," Gray said.

"Batsmen are obviously coming at you a lot harder in T20 cricket, and your aim is to reduce the amount of runs scored off you.

"But I wouldn't say that I prefer one format over the other.

"They both pose unique challenges and it's up to the bowler to come up with solutions."

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