2015–16 Sydney Thunder season

Sydney Thunder
2015–16 season
Coach	Paddy Upton
Captain(s)	Michael Hussey
Home ground	Sydney Showground Stadium, Sydney
BBL	4th
BBL Finals	Winners
Leading Run Scorer	Usman Khawaja (345)
Leading Wicket Taker	Andre Russell (16)
Highest home attendance	21,500 vs Strikers ; (28 December 2015)
Lowest home attendance	18,287 vs Sixers ; (17 December 2015)
Average home attendance	19,333

Last updated March 27, 2025

Ladder

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	Pts	NRR	Qualification
1	Adelaide Strikers	8	7	1	14	0.544	Advanced to semi-finals
2	Melbourne Stars	8	5	3	10	0.366
3	Perth Scorchers	8	5	3	10	0.181
4	Sydney Thunder (C)	8	4	4	8	0.375
5	Melbourne Renegades	8	3	5	6	−0.041
6	Brisbane Heat	8	3	5	6	−0.204
7	Hobart Hurricanes	8	3	5	6	−0.955
8	Sydney Sixers	8	2	6	4	−0.330

Source: ^[1]
(C) Champions

Ladder progress

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Ground	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A
Result	W	W	W	L	L	L	L	W
Position	1	2	1	2	3	4	5	3

Source: Competitive Matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lose

Regular season

17 December
19:40 (D/N)
Scorecard

(H) Sydney Thunder 4/158 (20 overs)	v	Sydney Sixers 122 (19.5 overs)
Michael Hussey 80* (59) Trent Lawford 1/12 (2 overs)		Michael Lumb 34 (27) Andre Russell 3/13 (4 overs)

Sydney Thunder won by 36 runs
Spotless Stadium
Attendance: 18,287^[2]
Umpires: Geoff Joshua and Paul Wilson
Player of the match: Michael Hussey (Thunder)

Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to bat.

20 December
19:25 (D/N)
Scorecard

Sydney Thunder 6/178 (20 overs)	v	Melbourne Stars (H) 5/177 (20 overs)
Usman Khawaja 109* (70) Glenn Maxwell 2/28 (4 overs)		Kevin Pietersen 76 (42) Andre Russell 2/28 (4 overs)

Sydney Thunder won by 1 run
Melbourne Cricket Ground
Attendance: 18,809^[3]
Umpires: Shawn Craig and Paul Wilson
Player of the match: Usman Khawaja (Thunder)

Melbourne Stars won the toss and elected to field.

28 December
19:10 (D/N)
Scorecard

Adelaide Strikers 9/117 (20 overs)	v	Sydney Thunder (H) 3/121 (16.3 overs)
Brad Hodge 34 (33) Clint McKay 2/18 (3 overs)		Jacques Kallis 49* (48) Ben Laughlin 2/22 (2.3 overs)

Sydney Thunder won by 7 wickets
Spotless Stadium
Attendance: 21,500^[4]
Umpires: Gerard Abood and Greg Davidson
Player of the match: Andre Russell (Thunder)

Adelaide Strikers won the toss and elected to bat.
The crowd of 21,500 is the highest attendance for a cricket match at Spotless Stadium and the second highest attendance for any sport at the stadium.
Billy Stanlake (Strikers) made his T20 debut.

1 January
19:10 (D/N)
Scorecard

(H) Hobart Hurricanes 6/163 (20 overs)	v	Sydney Thunder 9/152 (20 overs)
George Bailey 56* (29) Clint McKay 4/28 (3 overs)		Michael Hussey 71 (51) Shaun Tait 3/16 (4 overs)

Hobart Hurricanes won by 11 runs
Blundstone Arena
Attendance: 17,151^[5]
Umpires: Phillip Gillespie and Geoff Joshua
Player of the match: Shaun Tait (Hurricanes)

Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to field.
The crowd of 17,151 is the highest crowd at Blundstone Arena for a cricket match and the second highest crowd for any sport at the stadium.^[5]

3 January
18:10 (D/N)
Scorecard

Sydney Thunder 5/186 (20 overs)	v	Brisbane Heat (H) 4/189 (19.3 overs)
Michael Hussey 56 (43) Samuel Badree 1/26 (4 overs)		Chris Lynn 75 (32) Andre Russell 2/28 (4 overs)

Brisbane Heat won by 6 wickets
The Gabba
Attendance: 27,507^[6]
Umpires: Simon Fry and Michael Graham-Smith
Player of the match: Chris Lynn (Heat)

Brisbane Heat won the toss and elected to field.

7 January
19:40 (D/N)
Scorecard

Perth Scorchers 5/175 (20 overs)	v	Sydney Thunder (H) 9/145 (20 overs)
Cameron Bancroft 72 (53) Andre Russell 2/31 (4 overs)		Andre Russell 42 (20) Andrew Tye 3/22 (4 overs)

Perth Scorchers won by 30 runs
Spotless Stadium
Attendance: 18,942^[7]
Umpires: Greg Davidson and Paul Wilson
Player of the match: Cameron Bancroft (Scorchers)

Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to field.

11 January
19:40 (D/N)
Scorecard

(H) Sydney Thunder 5/173 (20 overs)	v	Melbourne Renegades 5/176 (19.2 overs)
Usman Khawaja 62 (42) Dwayne Bravo 2/26 (4 overs)		Cameron White 61 (46) Andre Russell 2/42 (4 overs)

Melbourne Renegades won by 5 wickets
Spotless Stadium
Attendance: 18,602^[8]
Umpires: Gerard Abood and Shawn Craig
Player of the match: Cameron White (Renegades)

Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to bat.

16 January
18:10 (D/N)
Scorecard

Sydney Thunder 5/202 (20 overs)	v	Sydney Sixers (H) 156 (17.3 overs)
Shane Watson 66 (41) Sean Abbott 2/41 (4 overs)		Nic Maddinson 70 (40) Clint McKay 3/16 (2.3 overs)

Sydney Thunder won by 46 runs
Sydney Cricket Ground
Attendance: 38,456^[9]
Umpires: Gerard Abood and John Ward
Player of the match: Shane Watson (Thunder)

Sydney Sixers won the toss and elected to field.
Nathan McAndrew (Thunder) made his T20 debut.
The crowd of 38,456 is the highest crowd for a domestic cricket game in New South Wales.^[9]

Knockout phase

Semifinals			Final

1	Adelaide Strikers (H)	7/159 (20 ov)

4	Sydney Thunder	2/160 (17.4 ov)
			2	Melbourne Stars (H)	9/176 (20 ov)

			4	Sydney Thunder	7/181 (19.3 ov)
3	Perth Scorchers	7/139 (20 ov)

2	Melbourne Stars (H)	3/140 (18.1 ov)

Semi-finals

The top four teams from the group stage qualified for the semi-finals.

2015/16 squad

Players with international caps are listed in bold.

Name	Birth date	Batting style	Bowling style	Notes
Batsmen
Michael Hussey	(1975-05-27) 27 May 1975 (age 49)	Left-handed	Right arm medium	Captain
Usman Khawaja	(1986-12-18) 18 December 1986 (age 38)	Left-handed	Right arm medium
Aiden Blizzard	(1984-06-27) 27 June 1984 (age 40)	Left-handed	Left arm medium
Kurtis Patterson	(1993-04-05) 5 April 1993 (age 31)	Left-handed	Right arm off spin
Ben Rohrer	(1981-03-26) 26 March 1981 (age 44)	Left-handed
Ahillen Beadle	(1986-08-29) 29 August 1986 (age 38)	Left-handed	Left arm orthodox
Jake Doran	(1996-12-02) 2 December 1996 (age 28)	Left-handed	Right arm medium
All-rounders
Jacques Kallis	(1975-10-16) 16 October 1975 (age 49)	Right-handed	Right arm fast	Overseas player
Andre Russell	(1988-04-29) 29 April 1988 (age 36)	Right-handed	Right arm fast medium	Overseas player
Andrew McDonald	(1981-06-15) 15 June 1981 (age 43)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium
Shane Watson	(1981-06-17) 17 June 1981 (age 43)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium
Wicket-keepers
Chris Hartley	(1982-05-24) 24 May 1982 (age 42)	Left-handed	—
Bowlers
Pat Cummins	(1993-05-08) 8 May 1993 (age 31)	Right-handed	Right arm fast
Clint McKay	(1983-02-22) 22 February 1983 (age 42)	Right-handed	Right arm fast medium
Gurinder Sandhu	(1993-02-14) 14 February 1993 (age 32)	Left-handed	Right arm fast medium
Alister McDermott	(1991-06-07) 7 June 1991 (age 33)	Right-handed	Right arm fast medium
Chris Green	(1993-10-01) 1 October 1993 (age 31)	Right-handed	Right arm off spin
Fawad Ahmed	(1982-02-05) 5 February 1982 (age 43)	Right-handed	Right arm leg spin

Home attendance

Game	Opponent	Attendance
2	Sydney Sixers	18,287
3	Adelaide Strikers	21,500
6	Perth Scorchers	18,942
8	Melbourne Renegades	18,602
Total Attendance		77,331
Average Attendance		19,333

References

↑ "Big Bash League Table – 2015–16". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
↑ #SydneySmash breaks ratings record cricket.com.au. Retrieved on 18 Dec, 2015
↑ Early rain didn't shy away the 18,809 Stars fans twitter.com/StarsBBL. Retrieved 20 Dec, 2015
↑ IT'S A SELL OUT AT SPOTLESS STADIUM! 21,500 people are in & the full house sign has gone up. #ThunderNation Foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 28 Dec, 2015
1 2 WOW!!! The BIGGEST EVER crowd for a cricket match @BlundstoneArena twitter.com/HurricanesBBL. Retrieved on 1 January 2016
↑ Another great crowd of 27,507 in the house to watch a grandstand finish. 39 needed from 22 balls. #TurnUpTheHeat #BBL05 twitter.com/HeatBBL. Retrieved on 3 Jan, 2016
↑ Final Crowd Figure for tonight's game v @ScorchersBBL is 18, 942. Thankyou #ThunderNation for showing your support again #BBL05 twitter.com/ThunderBBL. Retrieved on 8 Jan, 2016
↑ Official attendance for tonight's game is 18, 602, thank you again for your support #ThunderNation #BBL05 twitter.com/ThunderBBL. Retrieved 11 Jan, 2015
1 2 38,456 people at the @scg tonight! A new record for Domestic Cricket in NSW! Sydney, you look incredible! #BBL05 twitter.com/SixersBBL. Retrieved on 16 January 2016
↑ Not going all our way on the field at the moment, but another incredible turnout from the #strikeforce! twitter.com/StrikersBBL. Retrieved on 21 January 2016
↑ 47,672 in the house for the #BBLFinal, 47,000 of them wanting to see #TeamGreen win! Thunder need 25 from 18 balls... twitter.com/StarsBBL. Retrieved on 25 January 2016

External links

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[1] "Big Bash League Table – 2015–16". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 December 2017.

[2] #SydneySmash breaks ratings record cricket.com.au. Retrieved on 18 Dec, 2015

[3] Early rain didn't shy away the 18,809 Stars fans twitter.com/StarsBBL. Retrieved 20 Dec, 2015

[4] IT'S A SELL OUT AT SPOTLESS STADIUM! 21,500 people are in & the full house sign has gone up. #ThunderNation Foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 28 Dec, 2015

[1_Jan-5] 1 2 WOW!!! The BIGGEST EVER crowd for a cricket match @BlundstoneArena twitter.com/HurricanesBBL. Retrieved on 1 January 2016

[3_Jan-6] Another great crowd of 27,507 in the house to watch a grandstand finish. 39 needed from 22 balls. #TurnUpTheHeat #BBL05 twitter.com/HeatBBL. Retrieved on 3 Jan, 2016

[7_Jan-7] Final Crowd Figure for tonight's game v @ScorchersBBL is 18, 942. Thankyou #ThunderNation for showing your support again #BBL05 twitter.com/ThunderBBL. Retrieved on 8 Jan, 2016

[8] Official attendance for tonight's game is 18, 602, thank you again for your support #ThunderNation #BBL05 twitter.com/ThunderBBL. Retrieved 11 Jan, 2015

[twitter.com-9] 1 2 38,456 people at the @scg tonight! A new record for Domestic Cricket in NSW! Sydney, you look incredible! #BBL05 twitter.com/SixersBBL. Retrieved on 16 January 2016

[10] Not going all our way on the field at the moment, but another incredible turnout from the #strikeforce! twitter.com/StrikersBBL. Retrieved on 21 January 2016

[11] 47,672 in the house for the #BBLFinal, 47,000 of them wanting to see #TeamGreen win! Thunder need 25 from 18 balls... twitter.com/StarsBBL. Retrieved on 25 January 2016

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(H) Adelaide Strikers 7/159 (20 overs)	v	Sydney Thunder 2/160 (17.4 overs)
Alex Ross 47 (38) Clint McKay 3/44 (4 overs)		Usman Khawaja 104* (59) Ben Laughlin 1//21 (3 overs)

(H) Melbourne Stars 9/176 (20 overs)	v	Sydney Thunder 7/181 (19.3 overs)
Kevin Pietersen 74 (39) Shane Watson 2/17 (3 overs)		Usman Khawaja 70 (40) Marcus Stoinis 3/30 (4 overs)

v t e Sydney Thunder
Est. 2011 in Sydney, New South Wales Men's team Players Women's team
History	Overview
Home stadium	Sydney Showground Stadium Stadium Australia (2011–2014)
Leagues	Big Bash League Champions League Twenty20 Women's Big Bash League
Seasons (men)	2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22
Seasons (women)	2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23
Coaches (men)	Shane Duff (2011) Chandika Hathurusingha (2012–2014) Paddy Upton (2014–2018) Shane Bond (2018–2021) Trevor Bayliss (2021-present)
Captains (men)	David Warner (2011, 1 match) Daniel Smith (2011–12, 6 matches) Chris Rogers (2012, 6 matches) Chris Gayle (2012, 2 matches) Michael Hussey (2014–2016, 8 matches) Chris Hartley (2015, 2 matches) Shane Watson (2016–2019, 31 matches) Ben Rohrer (2016, 2 matches) Callum Ferguson (2019–current, 14 matches)
Coaches (women)	Joanne Broadbent (2015–2019) Trevor Griffin (2019–current)
Captains (women)	Alex Blackwell (2015–2019, 60 matches) Rachael Haynes (2019–current, 28 matches) Hannah Darlington (2021, 13 matches)
Rivalries	Sydney Smash Men Women