Sydney Thunder
 | ||
| Personnel | ||
|---|---|---|
| Captain |  Usman Khawaja | |
| Coach | Trevor Bayliss | |
| Team information | ||
| Colours | Lime Green | |
| Founded | 2011 | |
| Home ground | Sydney Showground Stadium | |
| Capacity | Approx. 21,500[1] | |
| History | ||
| BBL wins | 1 (BBL05) | |
| Official website | Sydney Thunder | |
| ||
 | ||
The Sydney Thunder are an Australian franchise professional cricket team, competing in Australia's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition, the Big Bash League.[2][3] The team's home ground is Sydney Showground Stadium, known as Giants Stadium. Their team uniform is lime green. Thunder won the fifth edition of Big Bash, as well as the inaugural Women's Big Bash League.[2][3]
History[]
Along with the Sydney Sixers, the Sydney Thunder are the successors of the New South Wales Blues who 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 their debut in the 2011-12 Big Bash League season – the inaugural season of the Big Bash League. The team performed poorly in its first 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 ANZ Stadium in Sydney Olympic Park.[4] The team played their final two games of the 2014-15 Big Bash League season at Sydney Showground Stadium after they were unable to use ANZ Stadium due to the 2015 AFC Asian Cup association football tournament. In June 2015, the Thunder announced they would leave ANZ Stadium 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 it looked as if they were set to miss out on 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's defeat of the Melbourne Stars. The Sydney Thunder franchise also swept the titles as the women's team won the inaugural women's title hours ago on the same ground by the same margin with the same number of balls remaining (3 wickets with 3 balls remaining).[5] The men's game also featured a battle of two captains as brothers Michael and David Hussey went against each other on their mother's birthday.[6]
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.
Sydney Thunder were the most watched sports team in Australia during 2015/16 with an average TV audience of 1.2m.
Shane Watson was elected to captain the side in 2016.[7][8]
Role in the community[]
MoneyGram Thunder Nation Cup
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.
Thunder Bus
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]
Sydney Smash[]
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 Sydney. In the first four seasons of the BBL the Thunder lost all seven games to the Sixers. However, in the first match of the fifth Big Bash League, the Thunder scored their first win against the Sixers, breaking the hoodoo set in place by their rivals in Magenta. The season also marked the first time the Thunder beat the Sixers in both games contested during the season.[11] As at 2020, all subsequent seasons have had one win by each team.
List of Sydney Smash matches[]
| No. | Date | Winner | Margin | Venue | Attendance | MoM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 Runs (D/L) | ANZ Stadium | 31,262 | Mitchell Starc | ||
| 2 | 7 Wickets | SCG | 15,279 | Brad Haddin | ||
| 3 | 4 Wickets | ANZ Stadium | 20,986 | Daniel Hughes | ||
| 4 | 6 Wickets | SCG | 18,180 | Nic Maddinson | ||
| 5 | 8 Wickets | ANZ Stadium | 25,726 | Nathan Lyon | ||
| 6 | 16 Runs | ANZ Stadium | 32,823 | Aiden Blizzard | ||
| 7 | 4 Wickets | SCG | 36,487 | Jordan Silk | ||
| 8 | 36 Runs | Spotless Stadium | 18,287 | Michael Hussey | ||
| 9 | 46 Runs | SCG | 38,456 | Shane Watson | ||
| 10 | 9 Wickets | Spotless Stadium | 21,798 | Moises Henriques | ||
| 11 | 8 Wickets | SCG | 39,756 | Fawad Ahmed | ||
| 12 | 5 Wickets | Spotless Stadium | 21,589 | Shane Watson | ||
| 13 | 8 Wickets | SCG | 36,458 | Chris Green | ||
| 14 | 21 Runs | Spotless Stadium | 10,508 | Jos Buttler | ||
| 15 | 9 Wickets (D/L) | SCG | 34,385 | Sean Abbott | ||
| 16 | Super Over | SCG | 35,296 | Tom Curran | ||
| 17 | 4 Runs (D/L) | Giants Stadium | 15,476 | Chris Morris | ||
| 18 | 5 Wickets (D/L) | Manuka Oval | Steve O'Keefe |
2020–21 BBL squad[]
| S/N | Name | Nat. | Date of birth (age) | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batsmen | ||||||
| 9 | Oliver Davies | |
15 October 2000 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| 12 | Callum Ferguson | |
21 November 1984 | Right-handed | Right arm medium | International Cap & Captain |
| 18 | Usman Khawaja | |
18 December 1986 | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | International Cap |
| 6 | Alex Hales |  |
5 January 1989 | Right-handed | Right arm medium | International Cap |
| 49 | Alex Ross | |
17 April 1992 | Right-handed | Right-arm off-break | |
| 32 | Jason Sangha | |
8 September 1999 | Right-handed | Right arm leg spin | |
| All-rounders | ||||||
| 93 | Chris Green | |
1 October 1993 | Right-handed | Right arm off-break | |
| 24 | Arjun Nair | |
12 April 1998 | Right-handed | Right arm off-break | |
| 44 | Nathan McAndrew | |
14 July 1993 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast medium | |
| 60 | Daniel Sams | |
27 October 1992 | Right-handed | Left-arm fast medium | International Cap |
| 31 | Ben Cutting | |
30 January 1987 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast medium | |
| Wicket-keepers | ||||||
| 7 | Sam Billings | |
15 June 1991 | Right-Handed | Right-arm medium | Visa contract & International Cap |
| 22 | Matt Gilkes | |
21 August 1999 | Left-Handed | Left-arm medium | |
| 16 | Baxter Holt | |
21 October 1999 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Fast Bowlers | ||||||
| 35 | Brendan Doggett | |
3 May 1994 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast medium | |
| 10 | Adam Milne |  |
13 April 1992 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast medium | Visa contract & International Cap |
| 20 | Chris Tremain | |
10 August 1991 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast medium | International Cap |
| Spin bowlers | ||||||
| 50 | Jono Cook | |
14 December 1989 | Right-handed | Right arm leg spin | |
| 17 | Tanveer Sangha | |
26 November 2001 | Right-handed | Right arm leg spin | |
Administration and support staff[]
| Role | Name |
|---|
Year-by-year record[]
| Year | Finishing Position | Finals |
|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | 8th | DNQ |
| 2012–13 | 8th | DNQ |
| 2013–14 | 8th | DNQ |
| 2014–15 | 7th | DNQ |
| 2015–16 | 4th | Champions |
| 2016–17 | 8th | DNQ |
| 2017–18 | 6th | DNQ |
| 2018–19 | 6th | DNQ |
| 2019–20 | 5th | 3rd |
| 2020–21 | 3rd | 4th |
Captains list[]
| [12] | Name | Years captain | Captained | Won | Lost | Tied[*] | NR | %[**] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Warner | 2011 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% |
| 2 | Daniel Smith | 2011–2012 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 16.66% |
| 3 | Chris Rogers | 2012 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| 4 | Chris Gayle | 2013 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| 5 | Michael Hussey | 2013–2016 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 39.13% |
| 6 | Chris Hartley | 2015 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0% |
| 7 | Shane Watson | 2016–2019 | 31 | 13 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 43.33% |
| 8 | Ben Rohrer | 2016 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| 9 | Callum Ferguson | 2019– | 14 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 50.00% |
^* Includes matches determined by a Super Over ^** Ties counted as half a win
Honours[]
Domestic[]
- Big Bash:
Sponsors[]
Sydney Thunder are sponsored by Mazda, Transport for NSW, Homeworld, Sydney Water and Moneygram for the BBL06 season.[13]
BBL Team Sponsors:
| Years | Kit Manufacturers | Chest Sponsor | Breast Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | KooGa | Cudo | |
| 2012–13 | Webjet | University of Canberra | |
| 2013–14 | |||
| 2014–15 | Majestic Athletic | Mazda | Spot Jobs |
| 2015–16 | Homeworld | ||
| 2016–17 | |||
| 2017–18 | |||
| 2018–19 | |||
| 2019–20 |
WBBL Team Sponsors:
| Years | Kit Manufactures | Chest Sponsor | Breast Sponsor | Back Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Majestic Athletic | Rebel Sports | X Venture | X Venture |
| 2016–17 | Mazda | Homeworld | ||
| 2017–18 | ||||
| 2018–19 | Mazda | Homeworld | ||
| 2019–20 | Ring.com |
Imported players[]
The following players have been imported to play for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League:[14]
| BBL | Player | Country |
|---|---|---|
| BBL10 | Sam Billings | England |
| BBL10 | Alex Hales | England |
| BBL10 | Adam Milne | New Zealand |
| BBL06 | Carlos Brathwaite | West Indies |
| BBL08 | Jos Butler | England |
| BBL04 | Cameron Delport | South Africa |
| BBL08 | Anton Devcich | New Zealand |
| BBL03 | Tillakaratne Dilshan | Sri Lanka |
| BBL01 | Fidel Edwards | West Indies |
| BBL01 – BBL02 | Chris Gayle | West Indies |
| BBL02 | Martin Guptill | New Zealand |
| BBL08 | Chris Jordan | England |
| BBL04 – BBL05 | Jacques Kallis | South Africa |
| BBL04 + | Craig Kieswetter | England |
| BBL07 | Mitchell McClenaghan | New Zealand |
| BBL01 | Azhar Mahmood | Pakistan |
| BBL03 | Ajantha Mendis | Sri Lanka |
| BBL03 and BBL06 | Eoin Morgan | Ireland/England |
| BBL05 | Henry Nicholls | New Zealand |
| BBL02 | Matt Prior | England |
| BBL08 | Joe Root | England |
| BBL04 | Jason Roy | England |
| BBL05 | Andre Russell | West Indies |
| BBL06 | James Vince | England |
| BBL03 | Chris Woakes | England |
+= Did not play a game
See also[]
- Cricket in New South Wales
- Cricket NSW
- New South Wales Blues
- Sydney Sixers
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Sydney Thunder Announce Spotless Stadium As New Home Ground". Sydney Thunder. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Wu, Andrew (15 March 2011). "Sydney Thunder to clash with Sixers in Big Bash". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "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.
- ^ "BBL team names and colours". 6 April 2011. Archived from the original on 10 April 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
- ^ "Thunder claim the first WBBL title". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- ^ "Thunder toast historic double". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- ^ WATSON REPLACES FUSSEY AS THUNDER CAPTAIN
- ^ Watson to skipper Thunder
- ^ "Chris Gayle signs for Sydney Thunder in Big Bash League". Herald Sun. 30 June 2011.
- ^ GAYLE JOINS WARNER AT THUNDER Bigbash.com.au. Archived 5 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Thunder Nation Made Proud At Spotless". Sydney Thunder.
- ^ "Big Bash League - Sydney Thunder / Records / Most matches as captain". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Sports Media Ltd. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
- ^ "Sydney Thunder Website".
- ^ "Sydney Thunder Website".
External links[]
| show Big Bash League |
|---|
show Cricket in Australia  |
|---|
- Cricket in New South Wales
- Big Bash League teams
- Sports teams in Sydney
- Cricket clubs established in 2011