Sydney Thunder

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Sydney Thunder (WBBL).

Sydney Thunder
Personnel
CaptainDavid Warner
CoachTrevor Bayliss
Team information
Colours  Lime Green
Founded2011 (2011)
Home groundSydney Showground Stadium
CapacityApprox. 21,500[1]
History
BBL wins1: BBL05
Official websiteSydney Thunder

T20 kit

Seasons

The Sydney Thunder is an Australian franchise professional cricket team, competing in Australia's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition, the Big Bash League.[2][3] Along with the Sydney Sixers, the Thunder is the successor to the New South Wales Blues which played in the now-defunct KFC Twenty20 Big Bash. The team's home ground is Sydney Showground Stadium.

History

Along with the Sydney Sixers, the Sydney Thunder is the successor to the New South Wales Blues which played in the now-defunct KFC Twenty20 Big Bash. The NSW Cricket board unanimously decided on lime green as the team's colour, though other colours were considered, and rejected as being too close to other Sydney sports teams.[2] Cricket Australia did not allow Cricket NSW to use the sky blue colour traditionally associated with New South Wales sports teams.

The team made its debut in the 2011-12 Big Bash League season – the inaugural season of the Big Bash League. The team performed poorly in its first few years in the competition, finishing last in each of its first three seasons and second last in its fourth season.

From 2011 to 2014, the Thunder's home ground was Stadium Australia in Sydney Olympic Park.[4] The team played its final two games of the 2014-15 Big Bash League season at Sydney Showground Stadium after it was unable to use Stadium Australia due to the 2015 AFC Asian Cup association football tournament. In June 2015, the Thunder announced the team would leave Stadium Australia and play all home games at Sydney Showground Stadium until the 2024–25 BBL season.[1]

The 2015–16 Big Bash League season marked the first year in which the Thunder finished in the top half of the table, finishing 4th overall. Having won the first three games of the season and boasting a squad including Michael Hussey, Shane Watson, Usman Khawaja and Jacques Kallis, the Thunder soon became the favourites to win the tournament. However, the Thunder lost their following four games and were in danger of missing the finals. In their final game of the 2015–16 Big Bash League season, the Thunder defeated the Sixers for only the second time in their history to book a finals berth. The Thunder faced the Adelaide Strikers at Adelaide Oval in the first semi final, winning convincingly. The Thunder then faced the Stars in the Finals the Melbourne Stars. The final was played at Melbourne Cricket Ground on 24 January 2016 and resulted in the Thunder defeating the Melbourne Stars by 3 wickets. Michael Hussey announced his retirement from domestic cricket during BBL05, at the conclusion of the tournament he was announced the club's Director of Cricket, responsible for managing recruitment, contracts, facilities and scouting for the BBL squad. The Thunder were the most watched sports team in Australia during 2015-16 with an average TV audience of 1.2m.

Watson was elected to captain the side in 2016.[5][6] Watson captained the Thunder for three seasons, failing to qualify for the finals in each of them.

In 2019, Callum Ferguson was named as the new Thunder captain, subsequently qualifying for the finals during his two seasons in charge. Chris Green and Jason Sangha shared the captaincy role for the COVID-19 affected 2021-22 season as the Thunder were knocked out in their first finals game after finishing 3rd on the ladder.

In a league game on 16 December 2022 against the Adelaide Strikers, the Thunder were dismissed for 15 in 5.5 overs, breaking the record for both the shortest completed innings and the lowest score in one in all men's professional T20 matches.[7]

Role in the community

The MoneyGram Thunder Nation Cup gives cricket players from seven cultural backgrounds the chance to experience the fun and excitement of Twenty20 cricket, whilst representing their community. The winning team from each community cricket round will represent their country in the MoneyGram Thunder Nation Cup Semi Finals, with the two winners of the semi-finals playing off in a Grand Final prior to a Sydney Thunder match at Spotless Stadium.

The Thunder Bus travels around schools and cricket club in Sydney and Regional NSW, it has an interactive quiz and inflatable nets. The Thunder Bus directly engaged with 100,000 children aged between 5- 12 during this period and was seen by over 1 Million people.

Personnel

Sydney Thunder, like every other team, had a salary cap of $1 million for the first season of the Big Bash League, but in that season they spent almost half of the salary cap on the explosive opening combination of Chris Gayle and David Warner. Gayle was pursued by Perth Scorchers but he rejected an offer of $250,000 to stay with the New South Wales team.[8][9]

Season summaries

Season W–L Pos. Finals Coach Captain Most Runs Most Wickets Most Valuable Player Refs
2011–12 2–5 8th DNQ Shane Duff David Warner[a] Chris Gayle – 252 Scott Coyte – 8 – [10][11]
2012–13 0–8 8th DNQ Shane Duff Chris Rogers[b] Usman Khawaja – 206 Dirk Nannes – 11 – [12][13]
2013–14 1–7 8th DNQ Chandika Hathurusingha Michael Hussey Michael Hussey – 258 Gurinder Sandhu – 10 – [14][15]
2014–15 2–5 7th DNQ Paddy Upton Michael Hussey[c] Aiden Blizzard – 258 Gurinder Sandhu – 8 – [16][17]
2015–16 4–4 4th C Paddy Upton Michael Hussey[d] Usman Khawaja – 345 Clint McKay – 18 Usman Khawaja and Shane Watson [18][19]
2016–17 3–5 8th DNQ Paddy Upton Shane Watson[e] Kurtis Patterson – 173 Fawad Ahmed – 9 Pat Cummins [20][21]
2017–18 4–6 6th DNQ Paddy Upton Shane Watson Shane Watson – 331 Fawad Ahmed – 12 Shane Watson [22][23]
2018–19 6–7 6th DNQ Shane Bond Shane Watson Callum Ferguson – 442 Daniel Sams – 15 Callum Ferguson [24][25]
2019–20 6–7 5th CF Shane Bond Callum Ferguson Alex Hales – 576 Daniel Sams – 30^[f] Daniel Sams [26][27]
2020–21 8–6 3rd KF Shane Bond Callum Ferguson Alex Hales – 543* Tanveer Sangha – 21 Alex Hales [28][29]
2021–22 9–5 3rd KF Trevor Bayliss Usman Khawaja[g] Jason Sangha – 445 Daniel Sams – 19 Sam Billings [30][31]
2022–23 7–7 4th EF Trevor Bayliss Jason Sangha[h] Ollie Davies – 333 Daniel Sams – 18 Chris Green [32][33]
2023–24 1–7 8th DNQ Trevor Bayliss Chris Green Alex Hales – 258 Daniel Sams – 12 Tanveer Sangha [34][35]
2024–25 5–3 3rd RU Trevor Bayliss David Warner David Warner – 405 Chris Green – 12 David Warner [36][37]
Legend
DNQ Did not qualify SF Semi-finalists * Led the league
EF Lost the Eliminator RU Runners-up ^ League record
KF Lost the Knockout CF Lost the Challenger C Champions

Captains

There have been 12 captains in the Thunder's history, including matches featuring an acting captain.

Captain Span M Won Lost Tied NR W–L%
David Warner 2011–25 14 8 4 0 2 66.67
Daniel Smith 2011–12 6 1 5 0 0 16.67
Chris Rogers 2012 6 0 6 0 0 0
Chris Gayle 2013 2 0 2 0 0 0
Michael Hussey 2013–16 23 9 14 0 0 39.13
Chris Hartley 2015 2 0 1 0 1 0
Shane Watson 2016–19 31 13 17 0 1 43.33
Ben Rohrer 2016 2 0 2 0 0 0
Callum Ferguson 2019–21 32 16 15 0 1 51.61
Chris Green 2021–24 32 13 17 0 2 43.33
Jason Sangha 2022 6 3 3 0 0 50
Usman Khawaja 2022 2 1 1 0 0 50

Home grounds

Venue Games hosted by season
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 Total
Accor Stadium 4 4 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14
ENGIE Stadium 0 0 0 2 4 4 4 5 5 0 3 5 3 5 40
Lavington Sports Ground 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Manuka Oval 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 7 2 2 2 1 19

Current squad

The squad of the Sydney Thunder for the 2025–26 Big Bash League season as of 30 June 2025.[38]

  • Players with international caps are listed in bold.
No. Name Nat. Birth Date Batting Style Bowling Style Additional Info.
Batters
9 Ollie Davies 15 October 2000 Right-handed Right-arm off break
5 Sam Konstas 2 October 2005 Right-handed Right-arm leg spin
31 David Warner 27 October 1986 Left-handed Right-arm medium Captain
All-rounders
93 Chris Green 1 October 1993 Right-handed Right-arm off spin
29 Shadab Khan 4 October 1998 Right-handed Right-arm leg spin Overseas Draft Pick (Platinum)
44 Nathan McAndrew 14 July 1993 Right-handed Right-arm fast
95 Daniel Sams 27 October 1992 Right-handed Left-arm fast
Wicket-keepers
1 Cameron Bancroft 19 November 1992 Right-handed —
77 Sam Billings 15 June 1991 Right-handed — Overseas Draft Pick (Gold)
22 Matthew Gilkes 21 August 1999 Left-handed —
Bowlers
8 Wes Agar 5 February 1997 Right-handed Right-arm fast
54 Tom Andrews 7 October 1994 Left-handed Left-arm orthodox
69 Lockie Ferguson 13 June 1991 Right-handed Right-arm fast Overseas Draft Pick (Platinum)
34 Ryan Hadley 17 November 1998 Right-handed Right-arm fast
17 Tanveer Sangha 26 November 2001 Right-handed Right-arm leg spin

Players

Australian representatives

The following is a list of cricketers who have played for the Thunder after making their debut in the national men's team (the period they spent as both a Thunder squad member and an Australian-capped player is in brackets):

Overseas marquees

Honours

Statistics and Awards

Team Stats

  • Win–loss record:

Big Bash League:

Opposition M Won Lost Tied NR W–L%
Adelaide Strikers 24 10 12 0 2 45.45
Brisbane Heat 22 7 14 0 1 33.33
Hobart Hurricanes 23 8 14 0 1 36.36
Melbourne Renegades 19 8 10 0 1 44.44
Melbourne Stars 22 12 10 0 0 54.55
Perth Scorchers 20 11 9 0 0 55
Sydney Sixers 28 8 18 0 2 30.77
Total 158 64 87 0 7 42.38
  • Highest score in an innings: 5/232 (20 overs) vs Sydney Sixers, 22 January 2021
  • Highest successful chase: 8/183 (19.4 overs) vs Adelaide Strikers, 17 December 2024
  • Lowest successful defence: 6/142 (20 overs) vs Perth Scorchers, 2 January 2019
  • Largest victory:
    • Batting first: 129 runs vs Melbourne Renegades, 26 December 2020 and 8 January 2022
    • Batting second: 60 balls remaining vs Sydney Sixers, 14 January 2017
  • Longest winning streak: 6 matches (28 December 2021 – 10 January 2022)
  • Longest losing streak: 19 matches (30 December 2011 – 11 January 2014)

Source:[39]

Individual Stats

Source:[39]

Sydney Smash

Main article: Sydney Derby (BBL)

When the league began in 2011, Cricket Australia decided they would place two teams in Sydney. With the core group of players for both sides coming from the New South Wales cricket team, this rivalry automatically becomes widely anticipated in the city. In the first four seasons of the league the Thunder lost all seven Sydney derby games to the Sydney Sixers.

List of Sydney Smash Matches

Date Winner Margin Venue Attendance Player of the match
8 January 2012 Sixers 17 Runs (D/L)[40] ANZ Stadium 31,262 Mitchell Starc
8 December 2012 Sixers 7 wickets[41] SCG 15,279 Brad Haddin
30 December 2012 Sixers 4 wickets[42] ANZ Stadium 20,986 Daniel Hughes
21 December 2013 Sixers 6 wickets[43] SCG 18,180 Nic Maddinson
25 January 2014 Sixers 8 wickets[44] ANZ Stadium 25,726 Nathan Lyon
27 December 2014 Sixers 16 runs[45] ANZ Stadium 32,823 Aiden Blizzard
22 January 2015 Sixers 4 wickets[46] SCG 36,487 Jordan Silk
17 December 2015 Thunder 36 runs[47] Spotless Stadium 18,287 Michael Hussey
16 January 2016 Thunder 46 runs[48] SCG 38,456 Shane Watson
20 December 2016 Sixers 9 wickets[49] Spotless Stadium 21,798 Moises Henriques
14 January 2017 Thunder 8 wickets[50] SCG 39,756 Fawad Ahmed
19 December 2017 Thunder 5 wickets[51] Spotless Stadium 21,589 Shane Watson
13 January 2018 Sixers 8 wickets[52] SCG 36,458 Chris Green
24 December 2018 Thunder 21 runs[53] Spotless Stadium 10,508 Jos Buttler
2 February 2019 Sixers 9 wickets[54] (D/L) SCG 34,385 Sean Abbott
28 December 2019 Sixers Super Over[55] SCG 35,296 Tom Curran
18 January 2020 Thunder 4 runs[56] (D/L) Giants Stadium 15,476 Chris Morris
13 January 2021 Sixers 5 wickets[57] (D/L) Manuka Oval Steve O'Keefe
21 January 2021 Thunder 46 runs[58] Adelaide Oval Alex Hales
26 December 2021 Sixers 30 runs[59] (D/L) Sydney Showground Stadium Dan Christian
15 January 2022 Sixers 60 runs[60] Sydney Cricket Ground Steve O'Keefe
8 January 2023 Sixers 7 wickets Sydney Showground Stadium Sean Abbott
21 January 2023 Sixers 125 runs Sydney Cricket Ground Steve Smith

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Daniel Smith stood in as acting captain for six games.
  2. ^ Chris Gayle stood in as acting captain for two games.
  3. ^ Chris Hartley stood in as acting captain for two games.
  4. ^ Shane Watson stood in as acting captain for one game.
  5. ^ Ben Rohrer stood in as acting captain for two games.
  6. ^ Tied with Peter Siddle who also took 30 wickets in BBL|11.
  7. ^ Chris Green and Jason Sangha stood in as acting captain for ten and three games respectively.
  8. ^ Chris Green stood in as acting captain for 12 games.

References

  1. ^ a b "Sydney Thunder Announce Spotless Stadium As New Home Ground". Sydney Thunder. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  2. ^ a b Wu, Andrew (15 March 2011). "Sydney Thunder to clash with Sixers in Big Bash". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  3. ^ "New Twenty20 Big Bash league to feature teams in pink, orange and purple as tradition is abandoned". Fox Sports (Australia). 6 April 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  4. ^ "BBL team names and colours". 6 April 2011. Archived from the original on 10 April 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  5. ^ WATSON REPLACES FUSSEY AS THUNDER CAPTAIN
  6. ^ Watson to skipper Thunder
  7. ^ Lavalette, Tristan (16 December 2022). "15 all out! Thunder sink to record low as Strikers soar to 124-run win". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  8. ^ "Chris Gayle signs for Sydney Thunder in Big Bash League". Herald Sun. 30 June 2011.
  9. ^ GAYLE JOINS WARNER AT THUNDER Bigbash.com.au. Archived 5 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "Big Bash League, 2011/12 - Stats and Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  11. ^ "Big Bash League, 2011/12 - Stats and Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  12. ^ "Big Bash League, 2012/13 - Stats and Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  13. ^ "Big Bash League, 2012/13 - Stats and Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  14. ^ "Big Bash League, 2013/14 - Stats and Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  15. ^ "Big Bash League, 2013/14 - Stats and Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  16. ^ "Big Bash League, 2014/15 - Stats and Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  17. ^ "Big Bash League, 2014/15 - Stats and Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  18. ^ "Big Bash League, 2014/15 - Stats and Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  19. ^ "State award winners announced". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  20. ^ "Big Bash League, 2016/17 - Stats and Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  21. ^ "Cowan, Healy take out NSW awards". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  22. ^ "Big Bash League, 2017/18 - Stats and Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  23. ^ "Perry, Marsh take out major state gongs". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  24. ^ "Big Bash League, 2018/19 - Stats and Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  25. ^ "All the state and BBL awards winners". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  26. ^ "Big Bash League, 2019/20 - Stats and Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  27. ^ "All 2019-20 state and Big Bash awards winners". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  28. ^ "Big Bash League, 2020/21 - Stats and Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  29. ^ "2020-21 State awards wrap: All the winners". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  30. ^ "Big Bash League, 2021/22 - Stats and Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  31. ^ "State-by-State: 2021-22 Player Awards". Australian Cricketers' Association. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  32. ^ "Big Bash League, 2022/23 - Stats and Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  33. ^ "State awards wrap 2022-23: All the winners". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  34. ^ "Big Bash League, 2023/24 - Stats and Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  35. ^ "State awards wrap 2023-24: All the winners". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  36. ^ "Big Bash League, 2024/25 - Stats and Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  37. ^ "State awards wrap 2024-25: All the winners". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  38. ^ "Full squads: How each club's list is shaping up for BBL|15". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  39. ^ a b "Big Bash League Records - Cricket's Remarkable Feats". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  40. ^ Scorecard
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