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). 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.
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. 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. 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.
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.WATSON REPLACES FUSSEY AS THUNDER CAPTAINWatson to skipper Thunder 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.
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.GAYLE JOINS WARNER AT THUNDER Bigbash.com.au.
Season summaries
SeasonFinalsCoachCaptainMost RunsMost WicketsRefs8thDNQShane DuffDavid WarnerChris Gayle – 252Scott Coyte – 8 – 0–88thDNQShane DuffChris RogersDirk Nannes – 11 – 1–78thDNQMichael Hussey – 258 – 2–57thDNQPaddy UptonMichael HusseyAiden Blizzard – 258Gurinder Sandhu – 8 – 4–44thCPaddy UptonMichael HusseyUsman Khawaja – 345Clint McKay – 18Usman Khawaja and Shane Watson3–58thDNQPaddy UptonShane WatsonKurtis Patterson – 173Fawad Ahmed – 9Pat Cummins4–66thDNQPaddy UptonShane WatsonShane Watson – 331Fawad Ahmed – 12Shane Watson6–76thDNQShane BondShane WatsonDaniel Sams – 156–75thCFShane BondCallum FergusonAlex Hales – 576Daniel Sams – 30^Daniel Sams8–63rdKFShane BondCallum FergusonAlex Hales – 543*Tanveer Sangha – 21Alex Hales9–53rdKFTrevor BaylissJason Sangha – 445Daniel Sams – 19Sam Billings7–74thEFTrevor BaylissJason SanghaOllie Davies – 333Daniel Sams – 18Chris Green1–78thDNQTrevor BaylissChris GreenAlex Hales – 258Daniel Sams – 12Tanveer Sangha5–33rdRUTrevor BaylissDavid WarnerDavid Warner – 405Chris Green – 12David Warner2–88thDNQTrevor BaylissDavid WarnerDavid Warner – 433Daniel Sams – 12Chris Green
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.
CaptainSpanWonLostTiedDavid Warner2011–262310110247.62Daniel Smith 2011–126150016.67Chris Rogers 2012606000Chris Gayle2013202000Michael Hussey2013–16239140039.13Chris Hartley2015201010Shane Watson2016–193113170143.33Ben Rohrer2016202000Callum Ferguson2019–213216150151.61Chris Green2021–253313180241.94Jason Sangha20226330050Usman Khawaja20222110050
Home grounds VenueGames hosted by season 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 TotalAccor Stadium 4 4 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14ENGIE Stadium 0 0 0 2 4 4 4 5 5 0 3 5 3 5 4 44Lavington Sports Ground 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1Corroboree Group Oval Manuka 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 7 2 2 2 1 1 20
Current squad The squad of the Sydney Thunder for the 2026–27 Big Bash League season as of 28 September 2026. Players with international caps are listed in bold.
NameBirth DateBatting StyleBowling StyleAdditional Info.Batters5Sam Konstas Right-handed Right-arm leg spin 53Nic MaddinsonLeft-handedLeft-arm orthodox31David Warner Left-handed Right-arm mediumCaptain All-rounders93Chris Green Right-handed Right-arm off spin93Aidan O'Connor Right-handedRight-arm medium-fast95Daniel Sams Right-handed Left-arm fast Wicket-keepers1Cameron Bancroft Right-handed 77Sam Billings Right-handed International Signing22Matt GilkesLeft-handedBowlers69Lockie FergusonRight-handed Right-arm fast International Signing34Ryan HadleyRight-handed Right-arm fast 17Tanveer Sangha 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 Champions (1): BBL 05 Runners-Up (1): BBL 14 Minor Premiers (0): Finals series appearances (6): BBL 05, BBL 09, BBL 10, BBL 11, BBL 12, BBL 14 Wooden Spoons (6): BBL 01, BBL 02, BBL 03, BBL 06, BBL 13 ,BBL 15
Statistics and awards
Team stats Win–loss record: Big Bash League: OppositionWonLostTiedAdelaide Strikers 2510130243.48Brisbane Heat 248150134.78Hobart Hurricanes 258160133.33Melbourne Renegades 209100147.37Melbourne Stars 2312110052.17Perth Scorchers 2111100052.38Sydney Sixers 308200228.57Total16866950740.99
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:
Individual stats Most runs: Alex Hales – 2,005 Highest score in an innings: David Warner – 130* (65) vs Hobart Hurricanes, 3 January 2026 Highest partnership: Michael Hussey and Jacques Kallis – 160 vs Brisbane Heat, 21 December 2014 Most wickets: Daniel Sams – 121 Best bowling figures in an innings: Nathan McAndrew – 5/16 (4 overs) vs Melbourne Stars, 22 January 2025 Hat-tricks taken: Gurinder Sandhu vs Perth Scorchers, 6 January 2022 Most catches (fielder): Chris Green – 69 Most dismissals (wicket-keeper): Sam Billings – 40 (33 catches, 7 stumpings)
Source:
Individual awards Player of the Match: Alex Hales – 9 Callum Ferguson, Daniel Sams, and Shane Watson – 5 Matt Gilkes and Usman Khawaja – 4 Sam Billings, Ollie Davies, Chris Green, Gurinder Sandhu, and David Warner – 3 Jos Buttler, Chris Gayle, Michael Hussey, Jacques Kallis, and Nathan McAndrew – 2 Fawad Ahmed, Tom Andrews, Aiden Blizzard, Jonathan Cook, Pat Cummins, Zaman Khan, Saqib Mahmood, Eoin Morgan, Chris Morris, Alex Ross, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, and Jason Sangha – 1 BBL Player of the Final: Usman Khawaja – BBL05 BBL Player of the Tournament: Jacques Kallis – BBL04 BBL Team of the Tournament: Daniel Sams (3) – BBL09, BBL10, BBL11 David Warner (2) – BBL14, BBL15 Michael Hussey – BBL05 Andre Russell – BBL|05 Fawad Ahmed – BBL07 Shane Watson – BBL|07 Callum Ferguson – BBL08 Alex Hales – BBL|10 Jason Sangha – BBL|11 Sam Billings – BBL|14
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 teams 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