Sydney Thunder (WBBL)

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

The Sydney Thunder (WBBL) are an Australian women's Twenty20 cricket team based in Drummoyne Oval, Sydney, New South Wales.^[a] They are one of two teams from Sydney to compete in the Women's Big Bash League, the other being the Sydney Sixers. The Thunder have claimed two WBBL titles, winning the league's inaugural championship and the 2020–21 title.^[4]

Sydney Thunder (WBBL)

League	Women's Big Bash League
Personnel
Captain	Phoebe Litchfield[1]
Coach	Lisa Keightley
Team information
City	Sydney
Colours	Lime
Home ground	Drummoyne Oval[2]
Secondary home ground(s)	Blacktown ISP Oval, North Sydney Oval
History
Twenty20 debut	6 December 2015 (2015-12-06)
WBBL wins	2: WBBL01, WBBL06
Official website	Sydney Thunder
Current season

History

Formation

One of eight founding WBBL teams, the Sydney Thunder are aligned with the men's team of the same name.^[5] At the official WBBL launch on 10 July 2015, Rene Farrell was unveiled as the team's first-ever player signing.^[6] Joanne Broadbent was appointed as inaugural coach, while Alex Blackwell became the inaugural captain.^[7][8]

The Thunder played their first game on 6 December against the Sydney Sixers at Howell Oval in Penrith, winning by nine wickets with 40 balls remaining.^[9]

Rivalries

Brisbane Heat

The Thunder have combined with the Brisbane Heat to produce several "thrillers",^[10][11][12] including:

• 12 January 2019, Cazaly's Stadium: Responding to the Thunder's first innings total of 7/171, Heat opener Beth Mooney recorded her maiden WBBL century but was then dismissed in the 17th over. With the Heat still requiring 19 runs off the last twelve balls, Harmanpreet Kaur—having already claimed two wickets, including the stumping of Mooney, for just ten runs—came on to bowl her third over. The Heat, primarily through Delissa Kimmince, scored 13 runs off the over to swing the momentum once more. Laura Harris then hit the winning runs against the bowling of Nicola Carey with three wickets in hand and three balls remaining, making it Brisbane's highest successful run chase. The result helped to set up a semi-final encounter between the two teams on the following weekend.^[11][13][14]
• 19 January 2019, Drummoyne Oval: In the WBBL|04 semi-finals, the lower-ranked Heat posted a first innings total of 7/140. After struggling through the middle overs of the run chase, a late charge by the Thunder brought them back into the contest to leave a required five runs off the final delivery for victory. The last ball, sent down by spinner Jess Jonassen, was struck flat and cleanly to deep square leg by batter Nicola Carey. Jonassen immediately signalled disappointment as the ball set sail for beyond the boundary rope, therefore scoring six runs and clinching the match for the Thunder. However, Heat fielder Haidee Birkett made enough ground in time to take a "miracle"^[15] catch just inside the field of play to knock the Thunder out of the tournament.^[16] The match, in conjunction with the other semi-final played later in the day, was hailed as a showcase of "the irrefutable rise of women's cricket"^[17] and "sport with drama, skill and unpredictability – a potent recipe for success".^[18]
• 20 October 2019, North Sydney Oval: Thunder batters Alex Blackwell and Phoebe Litchfield set a new WBBL record for highest fourth-wicket partnership in their pursuit of the Heat's 9/150. The unbeaten 97-run stand, which got the Thunder over the line with seven balls to spare, was noted for the 20-year age gap between the two batting partners.^[19] At 16 years and 185 days, Litchfield also set a new WBBL record as the youngest player to score a half-century.^[20]

Perth Scorchers

The Thunder and the Perth Scorchers have met in two semi-finals:

• 21 January 2016, Adelaide Oval: Defending a total of 6/118, the Thunder restricted the Scorchers to 9/110 and claimed victory by eight runs.^[21][22]
• 1 February 2018, Perth Stadium: In the first innings, the Scorchers posted a total of 2/148. The Thunder were reeling by the 11th over of the run chase, having lost five wickets for just 46 runs. Fran Wilson piled on 46 runs from 28 balls late in the match but Perth, led by Emma King's 3/17, easily defended the target to win by 27 runs.^[23]

Due to a scheduling quirk, the two teams did not meet in the Thunder's home state of New South Wales until the 2020–21 Women's Big Bash League season (when the season was played entirely in Sydney due to uncertainty surrounding state border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic). From 2017 to 2018, five of their regular season encounters were played at Lilac Hill Park and characterised by close finishes, including:

• 7 January 2018: The Scorchers were well poised to chase down their target of 146 until a catch on the boundary by Thunder fielder Lisa Griffith dismissed Nicole Bolton for 71 in the 18th over. On the last ball of the match, Scorchers batter Mathilda Carmichael was run out by a metre while attempting a game-tying run, therefore securing victory for the Thunder by the narrowest of margins.^[24][25]
• 29 December 2018: The Thunder were catapulted to a score of 5/179 by a late 49-run partnership between Harmanpreet Kaur and Stafanie Taylor (which included 21 runs off the 18th over against the bowling of Taneale Peschel, who had taken 1/12 in her first three overs). Eight overs into the second innings, captain Meg Lanning had scored 71 of the Scorchers' 83 runs. Although Lanning was run out for 76 in the tenth over, Elyse Villani went on to score 66 not out, guiding the Scorchers to a six-wicket victory with one ball remaining. In doing so, the Scorchers set a new WBBL record for highest successful run chase.^[26]

Sydney Sixers

At the WBBL 02 season launch, Thunder captain Alex Blackwell said the Sydney Sixers "desperately want to beat us and we desperately want to beat them. It's set up to be a really good rivalry."^[27] In a joint media conference ahead of WBBL 05, Sixers captain Ellyse Perry said she considers the Thunder "our biggest rivals" while the Thunder's Rachel Priest claimed "it was a really intense rivalry right when I started with the team".^[28] Noteworthy matches include:

• 24 January 2016, Melbourne Cricket Ground: Having lost their first six games of the season, the Sixers stormed into the WBBL|01 final by winning nine consecutive matches.^[29] Their streak would come to an end in a low-scoring championship decider plagued by "probably the worst fielding seen all tournament"^[30] from both teams. Ultimately the Thunder scraped home by three wickets with three balls remaining to claim the inaugural Women's Big Bash title. Erin Osborne earned Player of the Final honours for her bowling figures of 3/21 off four overs.^[31]
• 14 January 2017, Sydney Cricket Ground: Defending a first innings total of 138, Sixers off-spinner Lauren Smith conceded seven runs in the last over to tie the game. With scores still level after the subsequent super over, the Thunder were awarded the win on the boundary count back rule. Despite the intense rivalry between the two teams, the match was noted for a sporting gesture by Thunder captain Alex Blackwell who, suspecting she interfered with the batter, withdrew an appeal that would have led to the dismissal of the Sixers' Sara McGlashan.^[32]
• 15 November 2019, Drummoyne Oval: The Sixers cruised to a comfortable 40-run victory, having also defeated the Thunder by 49 runs in the season opener—Perry top-scoring with 81 on both occasions. This marked the first time either team would sweep their fellow Sydneysiders in the regular season.^{[33][34][35][36]}

Captaincy records

See also: § Season summaries

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

Captain	Span	M	Won	Lost	Tied	NR	W–L%
Alex Blackwell	2015–2019	60	36	23	0	1	61.02
Rachael Haynes	2019–2022	42	15	22	0	5	40.54
Hannah Darlington	2021	13	4	8	0	1	33.33
Heather Knight	2023	14	7	6	0	1	53.85
Sammy-Jo Johnson	2023	1	0	1	0	0	0
Phoebe Litchfield	2024	12	7	4	0	1	63.64

Source:^[37]

Season summaries

Chart of yearly table positions for Sydney Thunder in WBBL

Season	W–L	Pos.	Finals	Coach	Captain	Most Runs	Most Wickets	Most Valuable Player[b]	Refs
2015–16	9–5*	1st*	C	Joanne Broadbent	Alex Blackwell	Alex Blackwell – 410	Rene Farrell – 26*	Stafanie Taylor	[38][39][40]
2016–17	6–7	6th	DNQ	Joanne Broadbent	Alex Blackwell	Alex Blackwell – 386	Nicola Carey – 14	Harmanpreet Kaur	[41][42][43]
2017–18	10–4	2nd	SF	Joanne Broadbent	Alex Blackwell	Rachael Haynes – 426	Carey, Farrell – 17	Rachael Haynes	[44][45][46]
2018–19	9–4	2nd	SF	Joanne Broadbent	Alex Blackwell	Rachael Haynes – 376	Stafanie Taylor – 19	Rachel Priest	[47][48][49]
2019	5–8	6th	DNQ	Trevor Griffin	Rachael Haynes[c]	Alex Blackwell – 317	Hannah Darlington – 16	Hannah Darlington	[50][51][52]
2020	7–5	3rd	C	Trevor Griffin	Rachael Haynes	Heather Knight – 446	Sammy-Jo Johnson – 22*	Heather Knight	[53][54][55]
2021	4–8	7th	DNQ	Trevor Griffin	Rachael Haynes[d]	Smriti Mandhana – 377	Hannah Darlington – 16	Smriti Mandhana	[56][57][58]
2022	1–10	8th	DNQ	Trevor Griffin	Rachael Haynes	Phoebe Litchfield – 280	Samantha Bates – 12	Phoebe Litchfield	[59][60][61]
2023	7–6	4th	EF	Lisa Keightley	Heather Knight	Chamari Athapaththu – 552	Hannah Darlington – 22	Chamari Athapaththu*	[62][63][64]
2024	6–3	3rd	CF	Lisa Keightley	Phoebe Litchfield	Phoebe Litchfield – 342	Samantha Bates – 20	Heather Knight	[65][66][67]

Legend

DNQ	Did not qualify	SF	Semi-finalists	*	Led the league
EF	Lost the Eliminator	RU	Runners-up	^	League record
CF	Lost the Challenger	C	Champions

Home grounds

Venue	Games hosted by season
	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	Total
Bankstown Oval	–	–	–	1	1	–	N/A[e]	–	–	–	2
Blacktown ISP Oval	–	4	–	1	1	2		3	–	–	11
Cricket Central	–	–	–	–	–	–		–	4	–	4
Drummoyne Oval	–	–	–	1	2	2		–	–	4	9
Howell Oval	1	2	1	–	–	–		–	–	–	4
Hurstville Oval	–	–	–	–	–	2		–	–	–	2
Lavington Sports Ground	–	1	1	–	–	–		–	–	–	2
Manuka Oval	–	–	1	1	1	–		1	–	–	4
North Dalton Park	–	–	–	–	1	–		–	–	–	1
North Sydney Oval	–	1	2	1	1	3		2	3	1	14
Robertson Oval	–	–	2	–	–	–		–	–	–	2
Sydney Showground Stadium	1	1	–	3	–	6		–	–	–	11
University Oval No. 1	1	–	–	–	–	–		–	–	–	1

Current squad

The squad of the Sydney Thunder for the 2025–26 Women's Big Bash League season as of 31 July 2025.^[68][69]

• Players with international caps are listed in bold.

No.	Name	Nat.	Birth date	Batting style	Bowling style	Additional Info.
Batters
99	Chamari Athapaththu		9 February 1990	Left-handed	Right-arm off spin	Overseas Draft Pick (Platinum)
4	Laura Harris		18 August 1990	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
5	Heather Knight		26 December 1990	Right-handed	Right-arm off spin	Overseas Draft Pick (Platinum)
4	Anika Learoyd		14 April 2002	Right-handed	Right-arm leg spin
18	Phoebe Litchfield		18 April 2003	Left-handed	Right-arm leg spin	Captain
13	Georgia Voll		5 August 2003	Right-handed	Right-arm off spin
All-rounders
35	Ella Briscoe		2 September 2005	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
25	Hannah Darlington		25 January 2002	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
18	Hasrat Gill		9 November 2005	Left-handed	Right-arm leg spin
Wicket-keepers
21	Tahlia Wilson		21 October 1999	Right-handed	—
Bowlers
34	Samantha Bates		17 August 1992	Right-handed	Left-arm orthodox
19	Sienna Eve		18 February 2005	Left-handed	Left-arm orthodox
89	Shabnim Ismail		5 October 1988	Left-handed	Right-arm fast	Overseas Draft Pick (Gold)
6	Taneale Peschel		29 August 1994	Right-handed	Right-arm medium

Players

Australian representatives

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

• Alex Blackwell (WBBL|01–05)
• Lauren Cheatle (WBBL|01–02)
• Rene Farrell (WBBL|01–05)
• Rachael Haynes (WBBL|01–08)
• Erin Osborne (WBBL|01–02)
• Naomi Stalenberg (WBBL|02–05)
• Belinda Vakarewa (WBBL|03–04, 08)
• Nicola Carey (WBBL|04)
• Hannah Darlington (WBBL|07–11)
• Phoebe Litchfield (WBBL|08–11)
• Georgia Voll (WBBL|11)

Overseas marquees

• Stafanie Taylor (WBBL|01–04)
• Harmanpreet Kaur (WBBL|02–04)
• Rachel Priest (WBBL|03–05)
• Fran Wilson (WBBL|03)
• Nida Dar (WBBL|05)
• Shabnim Ismail (WBBL|05–06, 11)
• Tammy Beaumont (WBBL|06, 08)
• Heather Knight (WBBL|06, 09–11)
• Smriti Mandhana (WBBL|07)
• Deepti Sharma (WBBL|07)
• Issy Wong (WBBL|07)
• Lea Tahuhu (WBBL|08)
• Chloe Tryon (WBBL|08)
• Amy Jones (WBBL|08)
• Chamari Athapaththu (WBBL|09–11)
• Lauren Bell (WBBL|09)
• Marizanne Kapp (WBBL|09)
• Georgia Adams (WBBL|10)

Associate rookies

• Suleeporn Laomi (WBBL|01)^[70]
• Konio Oala (WBBL|02)^[71]
• Sterre Kalis (WBBL|03)^[72]

Statistics and awards

Statistics and awards updated through to the end of WBBL|08

Team stats

• Champions: 2 – WBBL 01, WBBL 06
• Runners-up: 0
• Minor premiers: 1 – WBBL 01
• Win–loss record:

Opposition	M	Won	Lost	Tied	NR	W–L%
Adelaide Strikers	19	7	10	0	2	41.18
Brisbane Heat	23	10	13	0	0	43.48
Hobart Hurricanes	21	12	7	0	2	63.16
Melbourne Renegades	19	11	8	0	0	57.89
Melbourne Stars	20	12	4	0	4	75
Perth Scorchers	22	9	12	0	1	42.86
Sydney Sixers	21	8	10	0	3	44.44
Total	145	69	64	0	12	51.88

• Highest score in an innings: 5/212 (20 overs) vs Adelaide Strikers, 1 November 2024
• Highest successful chase: 3/173 (19 overs) vs Perth Scorchers, 15 November 2024
• Lowest successful defence: 9/104 (20 overs) vs Melbourne Stars, 17 January 2016
• Largest victory:
  • Batting first: 64 runs vs Adelaide Strikers, 1 November 2024
  • Batting second: 50 balls remaining vs Melbourne Renegades, 27 December 2016
• Longest winning streak: 5 matches
• Longest losing streak: 6 matches

Source:^[73]

Individual stats

• Most runs: Rachael Haynes – 2,142
• Highest score in an innings: Smriti Mandhana – 114* (64) vs Melbourne Renegades, 17 November 2021
• Highest partnership: Smriti Mandhana and Tahlia Wilson – 125* vs Melbourne Renegades, 17 November 2021
• Most wickets: Samantha Bates – 120
• Best bowling figures in an innings: Hannah Darlington – 5/10 (4 overs) vs Melbourne Stars, 10 November 2023
• Most catches (fielder): Phoebe Litchfield – 41
• Most dismissals (wicket-keeper): Tahlia Wilson – 36 (20 catches, 16 stumpings)

Source:^[73]

Individual awards

• Player of the Match:
  • Stafanie Taylor – 8
  • Alex Blackwell – 7
  • Samantha Bates – 6
  • Chamari Athapaththu, Hannah Darlington, Rene Farrell, Rachael Haynes, and Heather Knight – 4
  • Shabnim Ismail, Sammy-Jo Johnson, and Naomi Stalenberg – 3
  • Nicola Carey, Harmanpreet Kaur, Phoebe Litchfield, Rachel Priest, and Georgia Voll – 2
  • Lauren Cheatle, Lisa Griffith, Smriti Mandhana, Erin Osborne, Deepti Sharma, Lauren Smith, Belinda Vakarewa, Tahlia Wilson, and Issy Wong – 1
• WBBL Player of the Final:
  • Erin Osborne – WBBL|01
  • Shabnim Ismail – WBBL|06
• WBBL Player of the Tournament:
  • Chamari Athapaththu – WBBL|09
• WBBL Team of the Tournament:
  • Samantha Bates (2) – WBBL|06, WBBL|10
  • Hannah Darlington (2) – WBBL|06, WBBL|07
  • Rene Farrell (2) – WBBL|01, WBBL|03
  • Alex Blackwell – WBBL|01
  • Stafanie Taylor – WBBL|04
  • Heather Knight – WBBL|06
  • Chamari Athapaththu – WBBL|09
  • Phoebe Litchfield – WBBL|10
  • Georgia Voll – WBBL|10
• WBBL Young Gun Award:
  • Lauren Cheatle – WBBL|01
  • Hannah Darlington – WBBL|05
  • Phoebe Litchfield – WBBL|07

Sponsors

Year	Kit manufacturer	Chest sponsor	Back sponsor	Breast sponsor	Sleeve sponsor
2015–16	Majestic Athletic	Rebel	XVenture	XVenture	Rebel
2016–17			Homeworld	Mazda
2017–18
2018–19		Mazda	Amart Furniture	Homeworld
2019–20			Ring.com
2020–21			Chamberlain		Chamberlain
2021–22	Nike	Chamberlain	Homeworld		What's Your Plan B?

See also

• Cricket portal
• New South Wales portal

• Cricket in New South Wales
• Cricket NSW
• New South Wales Breakers
• Sydney Sixers (WBBL)