Sydney Thunder

Australian franchise professional cricket team From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Sydney Thunder is an Australian men's professional franchise cricket team, competing in Australia's domestic Twenty20 (T20) cricket competition, the Big Bash League (BBL).[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. Since the inaugural 2011–12 Big Bash League season, the Thunder have won one title, and appeared in two finals.

NicknameThunder
LeagueBig Bash League
AssociationCricket Australia
CaptainDavid Warner
Quick facts Nickname, League ...
Sydney Thunder
NicknameThunder
LeagueBig Bash League
AssociationCricket Australia
Personnel
CaptainDavid Warner
CoachTrevor Bayliss
OwnerCricket New South Wales
Team information
CitySydney, New South Wales
Colours  Electric green[1]
Founded2011; 15 years ago (2011)
Home groundSydney Showground Stadium
Capacity22,102
History
Big Bash League wins1 (BBL |05)
Official websitesydneythunder.com.au

Regular kit

Indigenous kit

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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.[5]

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 team in 2016.[6][7] 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.[8]

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.[9][10]

Season summaries

Chart of yearly table positions for Sydney Thunder in BBL
More information Season, W–L ...
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 – [11][12]
2012–13 0–8 8th DNQ Shane Duff Chris Rogers[b] Usman Khawaja – 206 Dirk Nannes – 11 – [13][14]
2013–14 1–7 8th DNQ Chandika Hathurusingha Michael Hussey Michael Hussey – 258 Gurinder Sandhu – 10 – [15][16]
2014–15 2–5 7th DNQ Paddy Upton Michael Hussey[c] Aiden Blizzard – 258 Gurinder Sandhu – 8 – [17][18]
2015–16 4–4 4th C Paddy Upton Michael Hussey[d] Usman Khawaja – 345 Clint McKay – 18 Usman Khawaja and Shane Watson [19][20]
2016–17 3–5 8th DNQ Paddy Upton Shane Watson[e] Kurtis Patterson – 173 Fawad Ahmed – 9 Pat Cummins [21][22]
2017–18 4–6 6th DNQ Paddy Upton Shane Watson Shane Watson – 331 Fawad Ahmed – 12 Shane Watson [23][24]
2018–19 6–7 6th DNQ Shane Bond Shane Watson Callum Ferguson – 442 Daniel Sams – 15 Callum Ferguson [25][26]
2019–20 6–7 5th CF Shane Bond Callum Ferguson Alex Hales – 576 Daniel Sams – 30^[f] Daniel Sams [27][28]
2020–21 8–6 3rd KF Shane Bond Callum Ferguson Alex Hales – 543* Tanveer Sangha – 21 Alex Hales [29][30]
2021–22 9–5 3rd KF Trevor Bayliss Usman Khawaja[g] Jason Sangha – 445 Daniel Sams – 19 Sam Billings [31][32]
2022–23 7–7 4th EF Trevor Bayliss Jason Sangha[h] Ollie Davies – 333 Daniel Sams – 18 Chris Green [33][34]
2023–24 1–7 8th DNQ Trevor Bayliss Chris Green Alex Hales – 258 Daniel Sams – 12 Tanveer Sangha [35][36]
2024–25 5–3 3rd RU Trevor Bayliss David Warner David Warner – 405 Chris Green – 12 David Warner [37][38]
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Legend
DNQDid not qualifySFSemi-finalists*Led the league
EFLost the EliminatorRURunners-up^League record
KFLost the KnockoutCFLost the ChallengerCChampions

Captains

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

More information Captain, Span ...
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
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Home grounds

More information Venue, Games hosted by season ...
Venue Games hosted by season
0102030405060708091011121314Total
Accor Stadium4442000000000014
ENGIE Stadium0002444550353540
Lavington Sports Ground000000000001001
Manuka Oval0000001227222119
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Current squad

The squad of the Sydney Thunder for the 2025–26 Big Bash League season as of 6 August 2025.[39][40]

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

Australian representatives

Australia 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:

More information Opposition, M ...
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
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  • 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:[41]

Individual Stats

Source:[41]

Individual Awards

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 teams coming from the New South Wales cricket team, this rivalry automatically becomes widely anticipated in the city.[citation needed] 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

More information Date, Winner ...
Date Winner Margin Venue Attendance Player of the match
8 January 2012Sixers17 Runs (D/L)[42]ANZ Stadium31,262Mitchell Starc
8 December 2012Sixers7 wickets[43]SCG15,279Brad Haddin
30 December 2012Sixers4 wickets[44]ANZ Stadium20,986Daniel Hughes
21 December 2013Sixers6 wickets[45]SCG18,180Nic Maddinson
25 January 2014Sixers8 wickets[46]ANZ Stadium25,726Nathan Lyon
27 December 2014Sixers16 runs[47]ANZ Stadium32,823Aiden Blizzard
22 January 2015Sixers4 wickets[48]SCG36,487Jordan Silk
17 December 2015Thunder36 runs[49]Spotless Stadium18,287Michael Hussey
16 January 2016Thunder46 runs[50]SCG38,456Shane Watson
20 December 2016Sixers9 wickets[51]Spotless Stadium21,798Moises Henriques
14 January 2017Thunder8 wickets[52]SCG39,756Fawad Ahmed
19 December 2017Thunder5 wickets[53]Spotless Stadium21,589Shane Watson
13 January 2018Sixers8 wickets[54]SCG36,458Chris Green
24 December 2018Thunder21 runs[55]Spotless Stadium10,508Jos Buttler
2 February 2019Sixers9 wickets[56] (D/L)SCG34,385Sean Abbott
28 December 2019SixersSuper Over[56]SCG35,296Tom Curran
18 January 2020Thunder4 runs[57] (D/L)Giants Stadium15,476Chris Morris
13 January 2021Sixers5 wickets[58] (D/L)Manuka OvalSteve O'Keefe
21 January 2021Thunder46 runs[59]Adelaide OvalAlex Hales
26 December 2021Sixers30 runs[60] (D/L)Sydney Showground StadiumDan Christian
15 January 2022Sixers60 runs[61]Sydney Cricket GroundSteve O'Keefe
8 January 2023 Sixers 7 wickets Sydney Showground Stadium Sean Abbott
21 January 2023 Sixers 125 runs Sydney Cricket Ground Steve Smith
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See also

Notes

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

References

External links

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