2019–20 Sydney Thunder WBBL season

Sydney Thunder

2019–20 season
Coach	Trevor Griffin
Captain(s)	Rachael Haynes
Home ground	Drummoyne Oval
League	WBBL
Record	5–8 (6th)
Finals	DNQ
Leading Run Scorer	Alex Blackwell – 317
Leading Wicket Taker	Hannah Darlington – 16
Player of the Season	Hannah Darlington
← 2018–19 2020–21 →

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,^[1][2] 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.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8]}

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.^[9]

Personnel changes made ahead of the season included:

• Trevor Griffin was appointed to the role of head coach, replacing Joanne Broadbent.^[10]
• Rachael Haynes assumed the captaincy, taking over from Alex Blackwell.^[11]
• Nicola Carey, Maisy Gibson and Belinda Vakarewa all departed the Thunder, joining the Hobart Hurricanes.^[12][13][14]
• After four seasons as an overseas marquee, Stafanie Taylor departed the Thunder and subsequently signed with the Adelaide Strikers.^[15]
• India marquee Harmanpreet Kaur did not return for WBBL|05 due to a conflicting national team schedule.^[16]
• 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.^[17]
• 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.^[18]

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).^[19]
• 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.^[20]

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.^{[21][22][23][24]}

No.	Name	Nat.	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

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

All times are local time

• Most runs: Alex Blackwell – 317 (17th in the league)^[33]
• Highest score in an innings: Alex Blackwell – 65 (47) vs Melbourne Stars, 27 November^[34]
• Most wickets: Hannah Darlington – 16 (equal 8th in the league)^[35]
• Best bowling figures in an innings: Shabnim Ismail – 3/14 (4 overs) vs Melbourne Renegades, 26 October^[36]
• Most catches (fielder): Shabnim Ismail – 5 (equal 14th in the league)^[37]
• Player of the Match awards:
  • Alex Blackwell – 2
  • Shabnim Ismail, Phoebe Litchfield, Rachel Priest – 1 each
• Alex Blackwell Medal:^[a] Hannah Darlington^[3]
• WBBL|05 Young Gun Award: Hannah Darlington (winner), Phoebe Litchfield (nominated), Tahlia Wilson (nominated)^[4]