2019–20 Sydney Thunder WBBL season
# 2019–20 Sydney Thunder WBBL season

The 2019–20 Sydney Thunder Women's season was the fifth in the team's history. Coached by Trevor Griffin and captained by Rachael Haynes, Sydney placed sixth in WBBL|05 and failed to qualify for finals. Ending with the retirement of veterans Alex Blackwell and Rene Farrell, the season marked a changing of the guard for the Thunder through the unearthing of acclaimed young talent such as Hannah Darlington and Phoebe Litchfield.

## Squad

Each 2019–20 squad featured 15 active players, with an allowance of up to five marquee signings including a maximum of three from overseas. Australian marquees are players who held a national women's team contract at the time of signing for their WBBL|05 team.

Personnel changes made ahead of the season included:

* Trevor Griffin was appointed to the role of head coach, replacing Joanne Broadbent.
* Rachael Haynes assumed the captaincy, taking over from Alex Blackwell.
* Nicola Carey, Maisy Gibson and Belinda Vakarewa all departed the Thunder, joining the Hobart Hurricanes.
* After four seasons as an overseas marquee, Stafanie Taylor departed the Thunder and subsequently signed with the Adelaide Strikers.
* India marquee Harmanpreet Kaur did not return for WBBL|05 due to a conflicting national team schedule.
* Nida Dar filled the team's second overseas marquee position, making her the first Pakistani woman to sign a deal with an international cricket league.
* South Africa marquee Shabnim Ismail, returning to the competition for the first time since a short inaugural season stint with the Melbourne Renegades, filled the Thunder's final overseas player slot.

Changes made during the season included:

* On 1 November, Penrith batter Samantha Arnold was added to the squad as a local replacement player for an injured Kate Peterson (concussion).
* On 26 November, Olivia Porter was added to the squad as a local replacement player for Nida Dar who missed the end of the season due to national team commitments.

The table below lists the Thunder players and their key stats (including runs scored, batting strike rate, wickets taken, economy rate, catches and stumpings) for the season.

| No. | Name | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | G | R | SR | W | E | C | S | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Batters ||||||||||||||
| | Samantha Arnold | | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Local replacement player |
| 2 | Alex Blackwell | 31 August 1983 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | 13 | 317 | 108.56 | – | – | 2 | – | |
| 15 | Rachael Haynes | 26 December 1986 | Left-handed | Left-arm medium | 12 | 166 | 85.56 | – | – | 2 | – | Captain, Australian marquee |
| 36 | Phoebe Litchfield | 18 April 2003 | Left-handed | – | 11 | 187 | 96.89 | – | – | 3 | – | |
| 10 | Naomi Stalenberg | 18 April 1994 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | 10 | 200 | 111.11 | – | – | 4 | – | |
| All-rounders ||||||||||||||
| 23 | Saskia Horley | 23 February 2000 | Right-handed | Right-arm off spin | 4 | 27 | 108.00 | 0 | 10.00 | 0 | – | |
| 33 | Kate Peterson | | Right-handed | Right-arm medium fast | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 14 | Olivia Porter | 14 November 2001 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Local replacement player |
| 8 | Rachel Trenaman | 18 April 2001 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg spin | 2 | 21 | 190.90 | 0 | 13.33 | 0 | – | |
| Wicket-keepers ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Rachel Priest | 13 July 1985 | Right-handed | – | 13 | 296 | 124.36 | – | – | 5 | 8 | Overseas marquee |
| 21 | Tahlia Wilson | 21 October 1999 | Right-handed | – | 5 | 94 | 87.03 | – | – | 1 | – | |
| Bowlers ||||||||||||||
| 34 | Samantha Bates | 7 August 1992 | Right-handed | Left-arm orthodox | 13 | 5 | 71.42 | 15 | 7.05 | 4 | – | |
| 4 | Nida Dar | 2 January 1987 | Right-handed | Right-arm off spin | 11 | 99 | 89.18 | 13 | 6.87 | 2 | – | Overseas marquee |
| 25 | Hannah Darlington | 25 January 2002 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium fast | 13 | 81 | 105.19 | 16 | 6.82 | 3 | – | |
| 88 | Rene Farrell | 13 January 1987 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | 12 | 77 | 126.22 | 11 | 7.27 | 2 | – | |
| 54 | Lisa Griffith | 28 August 1992 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium fast | 11 | 36 | 102.85 | 2 | 9.26 | 2 | – | |
| 89 | Shabnim Ismail | 5 October 1988 | Left-handed | Right-arm fast | 13 | 4 | 44.44 | 10 | 5.88 | 5 | – | Overseas marquee |

## Ladder

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Brisbane Heat (C) | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 0.723 |
| 2 | Adelaide Strikers (RU) | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 0.601 |
| 3 | Perth Scorchers | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0.026 |
| 4 | Melbourne Renegades | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 0.117 |
| 5 | Sydney Sixers | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | −0.076 |
| 6 | Sydney Thunder | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 11 | −0.487 |
| 7 | Hobart Hurricanes | 14 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 9 | −0.197 |
| 8 | Melbourne Stars | 14 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 4 | −0.734 |

* The four top ranked teams qualified for the semi-finals

## Fixtures

All times are local time

* Match 1 18 October 2019 19:40 (D/N) Scorecard

| Sydney Sixers 6/192 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Thunder 9/143 (20 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Ellyse Perry 81 (48) Nida Dar 2/44 (4 overs) | | Alex Blackwell 56 (38) Sarah Aley 3/28 (4 overs) |

* Sydney Sixers won by 49 runs North Sydney Oval, Sydney Attendance: 1,891 Umpires: Simon Lightbody and Marc Nickl Player of the match: Ellyse Perry (Sydney Sixers)
* Sydney Sixers won the toss and elected to bat
* Broadcast by Seven Network and Fox Cricket
* Match 6 20 October 2019 14:10 Scorecard

| Brisbane Heat 9/150 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Thunder 3/153 (18.5 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Jess Jonassen 42 (34) Samantha Bates 3/33 (4 overs) | | Phoebe Litchfield 52* (48) Grace Harris 1/19 (3 overs) |

* Sydney Thunder won by 7 wickets (with 7 balls remaining) North Sydney Oval, Sydney Umpires: Troy Penman and Andrew Hamilton Player of the match: Phoebe Litchfield (Sydney Thunder)
* Brisbane Heat won the toss and elected to bat
* Broadcast by Seven Network and Fox Cricket
* Phoebe Litchfield became the youngest player to score a half-century in the WBBL
* Match 12 26 October 2019 19:00 (D/N) Scorecard

| Sydney Thunder 8/132 (20 overs) | v | Melbourne Renegades 8/129 (20 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Rachael Haynes 36 (33) Maitlan Brown 3/22 (4 overs) | | Jess Duffin 69 (56) Shabnim Ismail 3/14 (4 overs) |

* Sydney Thunder won by 3 runs Blacktown International Sportspark, Sydney Attendance: 925 Umpires: Roberto Howard and Andrew Hamilton Player of the match: Shabnim Ismail (Sydney Thunder)
* Melbourne Renegades won the toss and elected to field
* Broadcast by Cricket Network
* Match 15 27 October 2019 14:00 Scorecard

| Melbourne Stars 5/141 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Thunder 6/142 (19.4 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Elyse Villani 52 (47) Rene Farrell 1/18 (4 overs) | | Alex Blackwell 45* (36) Madeline Penna 4/20 (4 overs) |

* Sydney Thunder won by 4 wickets (with 2 balls remaining) Bankstown Oval, Sydney Attendance: 606 Umpires: David Taylor and Claire Polosak Player of the match: Alex Blackwell (Sydney Thunder)
* Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to field
* Broadcast by Cricket Network
* Match 17 2 November 2019 14:00 Scorecard

| Hobart Hurricanes | v | Sydney Thunder |
| - | - | - |

* Match abandoned without a ball bowled West Park Oval, Burnie Umpires: Darren Close and G Beechey
* No toss was possible due to rain
* Broadcast by Cricket Network
* Match 23 3 November 2019 11:00 Scorecard

| Hobart Hurricanes 6/148 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Thunder 4/149 (18.1 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Heather Knight 77 (49) Nida Dar 2/16 (4 overs) | | Rachel Priest 50 (34) Maisy Gibson 2/28 (4 overs) |

* Sydney Thunder won by 6 wickets (with 11 balls remaining) West Park Oval, Burnie Umpires: Darren Close and Simon Burns Player of the match: Rachel Priest (Sydney Thunder)
* Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to field
* Broadcast by Cricket Network
* Match 27 10 November 2019 10:00 Scorecard

| Perth Scorchers 5/151 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Thunder 6/144 (20 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Natalie Sciver 37 (22) Hannah Darlington 2/24 (4 overs) | | Tahlia Wilson 47* (39) Heather Graham 3/22 (4 overs) |

* Perth Scorchers won by 7 runs Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide Umpires: Harry Singh and Mary Waldron Player of the match: Heather Graham (Perth Scorchers)
* Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to field
* Broadcast by Cricket Network
* Match 30 12 November 2019 17:30 (D/N) Scorecard

| Perth Scorchers 6/116 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Thunder 105 (19.4 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Nat Sciver 27 (26) Rene Farrell 2/24 (4 overs) | | Nida Dar 43 (39) Kim Garth 3/21 (4 overs) |

* Perth Scorchers won by 11 runs WACA Ground, Perth Umpires: Dean Trigg and James Hewitt Player of the match: Nat Sciver (Perth Scorchers)
* Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to field
* Broadcast by Cricket Network
* Match 33 15 November 2019 19:10 (D/N) Scorecard

| Sydney Sixers 3/152 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Thunder 8/112 (20 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Ellyse Perry 81 (70) Samantha Bates 1/20 (4 overs) | | Rene Farrell 23 (16) Sarah Aley 2/16 (4 overs) |

* Sydney Sixers won by 40 runs Drummoyne Oval, Sydney Attendance: 1,517 Umpires: Ben Treloar and Marc Nickl Player of the match: Ellyse Perry (Sydney Sixers)
* Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to field
* Broadcast by Seven Network and Fox Cricket
* Match 34 16 November 2019 19:10 (D/N) Scorecard

| Brisbane Heat 8/128 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Thunder 96 (19.1 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Laura Harris 30 (22) Nida Dar 2/15 (4 overs) | | Tahlia Wilson 19 (27) Jess Jonassen 4/13 (4 overs) |

* Brisbane Heat won by 32 runs Drummoyne Oval, Sydney Attendance: 921 Umpires: Troy Penman and Marc Nickl Player of the match: Amelia Kerr (Brisbane Heat)
* Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to field
* Broadcast by Seven Network and Fox Cricket
* Match 40 20 November 2019 14:30 Scorecard

| Sydney Thunder 4/112 (20 overs) | v | Adelaide Strikers 4/113 (19.1 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Rachael Haynes 33 (27) Amanda-Jade Wellington 1/10 (2 overs) | | Sophie Devine 62* (58) Nida Dar 2/21 (4 overs) |

* Adelaide Strikers won by 6 wickets (with 5 balls remaining) North Dalton Park, Wollongong Attendance: 892 Umpires: Andrew Hamilton and Bede Sajowitz Player of the match: Sophie Devine (Adelaide Strikers)
* Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to bat
* Broadcast by Cricket Network
* Match 46 24 November 2019 10:00 Scorecard

| Adelaide Strikers 6/161 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Thunder 6/161 (20 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Sophie Devine 88 (56) Hannah Darlington 3/29 (4 overs) | | Rachel Priest 48 (20) Amanda-Jade Wellington 3/17 (4 overs) |

* Adelaide Strikers won in a super over Blundstone Arena, Hobart Umpires: Muhammad Qureshi and Jeremiah Matibiri Player of the match: Sophie Devine (Adelaide Strikers)
* Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to field
* Broadcast by Cricket Network
* Adelaide Strikers qualified for finals
* Match 49 27 November 2019 14:30 Scorecard

| Sydney Thunder 6/162 (20 overs) | v | Melbourne Stars 5/144 (20 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Alex Blackwell 65 (47) Annabel Sutherland 2/31 (4 overs) | | Mignon du Preez 55 (50) Rene Farrell 2/28 (4 overs) |

* Sydney Thunder won by 18 runs Manuka Oval, Canberra Umpires: Andrew Scotford and Andrew Crozier Player of the match: Alex Blackwell (Sydney Thunder)
* Melbourne Stars won the toss and elected to field
* Broadcast by Cricket Network
* Match 53 1 December 2019 10:40 Scorecard

| Melbourne Renegades 6/151 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Thunder 7/122 (20 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Jess Duffin 53 (44) Samantha Bates 3/21 (4 overs) | | Naomi Stalenberg 28 (30) Molly Strano 3/26 (4 overs) |

* Melbourne Renegades won by 29 runs CitiPower Centre, Melbourne Umpires: Claire Polosak and Mattis van Eck Player of the match: Molly Strano (Melbourne Renegades)
* Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to field
* Broadcast by Seven Network and Fox Cricket
* Melbourne Renegades qualified for finals, Sydney Sixers eliminated from finals contention
* Former Australian players Alex Blackwell and Rene Farrell made their last WBBL appearances

## Statistics and awards

* Most runs: Alex Blackwell – 317 (17th in the league)
* Highest score in an innings: Alex Blackwell – 65 (47) vs Melbourne Stars, 27 November
* Most wickets: Hannah Darlington – 16 (equal 8th in the league)
* Best bowling figures in an innings: Shabnim Ismail – 3/14 (4 overs) vs Melbourne Renegades, 26 October
* Most catches (fielder): Shabnim Ismail – 5 (equal 14th in the league)
* Player of the Match awards:
   * Alex Blackwell – 2
   * Shabnim Ismail, Phoebe Litchfield, Rachel Priest – 1 each
* Alex Blackwell Medal: Hannah Darlington
* WBBL|05 Young Gun Award: Hannah Darlington (winner), Phoebe Litchfield (nominated), Tahlia Wilson (nominated)
