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The Sydney Thunder endured a torrid season in BBL|13, with very little going their way, be it their bowling attack or their batting line-up. The inability to play spin and pace was apparent.
Their batters struggled to get going as well, and they ended with one win and seven losses from 10 games through the course of the season. With the Sydney Thunder only winning because of a crucial contribution from their overseas players.
What went right for the Sydney Thunder?
Tanveer Sangha was their stand out spin bowler, averaging 21.78 for each wicket he took, taking nine wickets in the season at an economy of 6.53!
Zaman Khan too was impressive once again, with 8 wickets at an average of 16.38, an economy of 8.54 and a balls per wicket ratio of 11.5, having bowled predominantly at the death.
Alex Hales was good if not great in his nine games, scoring 258 runs at 28.66, while he managed to strike at 141, with a balls per boundary ratio of 4.5!
What went wrong for the Sydney Thunder?
Starting off with their batting, they struggled to bat well against pace, averaging 21 runs per wicket lost, and scored at a run rate of 8.01 during this phase.
Alex Hales held his own against pace, but the rest, Cameron Bancroft, Ollie Davies, Alex Ross, Daniel Sams and David Warner all struggled against the pacers, striking at under 120!
Against spin, their batting found it even harder to go along, with an average of just 14 and a strike rate of 111.21, losing a wicket against spin once every 13 balls! None of their batters bar Ollie Davies was able to strike at higher than 130 against spin, and Davies was only able to average 14.8 against spin.
Their pacers couldn’t hold down the fort taking just 31 wickets in nine games, at an average of 27.13 and a economy rate of 9.17, on the higher side.
While Zaman Khan did well for the Sydney Thunder, he couldn’t play all the games, having taken eight wickets in four games he was impressive, but the rest struggled with Daniel Sams going at 9.3 an over, Nathan McAndrew taking a wicket after 40 runs conceded.
The spinners couldn’t do much better, taking 14 wickets at an average of 32.71 with an economy of 7.25! Chris Green struggled, having taken five wickets in nine games, at an average of 46.8 and an economy of 7.76, struggling to make an impact.
While the Thunder managed to bowl well during the death, they lost the game early on, with their bowling average of 60.5 in the Powerplay and 43.71 in the Middle Overs allowing the opppsition too much time to settle and take it deep.
How did the Thunder fix their issues?
The Sydney Thunder recruited Wes Agar in trade of a draft pick position and they will be hoping Agar is able to boost their pace stocks, with a decent record in the BBL so dar, taking 69 wickets at 24, albeit at an high economy rate of 9 per over.
Another signing was that of youngster Sam Konstas, who has made his name in the longer formats, but has shown he isn’t going to shy away from going after the bowlers if the situation demands it, as he displayed in his innings in the fifty over game against India.
Sherfane Rutherford was an excellent pick in the Draft to have, in 2024, his performance at the death is as follows:
- Strike Rate: 166.32
- Batting Average: 22.57
- Boundary Percentage: 68.35%
- Balls per Boundary: 4.32
Lockie Ferguson will be a crucial draft pick, with his great form in the last two years especially with his excellent record at the death overs!
Powerplay Performance:
- Bowling Average: 21.29
- Economy Rate: 7.74
Death Performance:
- Bowling Average: 16.78
- Economy Rate: 8.58
Players to watch out for!
Sam Konstas: An exciting young prospect, he has already surged into Australian reckoning in the longer format, but he’s also shown his chops in the short versions with a scintillating hundred against India A and is 55*(64) against defending champions WA overnight in a Sheffield Shield game at the time of writing.
Liam Hatcher: While his numbers may be deceiving, Hatcher bowls with a lot of energy behind him and may well play a crucial role this summer for the Thunder, But his recent T20 form is poor, having played four games this season, taken 5 wickets at 30.6 with an economy of 9.6!
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