The Sydney Thunder are an Australian 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 at Sydney Olympic Park. Their team uniform is electric green.[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 electric 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 the 24th of 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]
Personnel
Sydney Thunder, like every other team, has a salary cap of $1 million for the first season of the Big Bash League, but they have 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.[7][8]
The team's captain for the 2013–14 season was Michael Clarke, while the team's coach was Chandika Hathurusingha, who resigned from the position in May 2014 in order to coach the Bangladesh national side.
Rivalries
- The Sydney Derby – 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 Sydney Derby 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.[9]
Year-By Year Record
2015/16 squad
Honours
Domestic
- Big Bash:
- Champions (1): 2015-16
- Runners-Up (0):
- Minor Premiers (0):
- Finals Series Appearances (1): 2015-16
- Wooden Spoons (3): 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14
Sponsors
Sydney Thunder are sponsored by Mazda, Transport for NSW, TFE Hotels, Triple M and SpotJobs for the 2014/15 season.[10] University of Canberra is a sponsor for 2013–14.[11]
Imported Players
+= Did not play a game
See also
References
External links
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- 2011–12
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- 2013–14
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- 2015–16
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- 2011–12
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Michael Hussey
Paddy Upton
2015–16 Sydney Thunder season
