# 2021–22 Sydney Thunder WBBL season

The 2021–22 Sydney Thunder Women's season was the seventh in the team's history. Coached by Trevor Griffin, the Thunder entered WBBL|07 as the defending champions but ended the regular season in seventh place on the ladder, recording their worst finishing position across the league's first seven editions. Due to ongoing border restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, they were not scheduled to play any games in their home state of New South Wales for the season. After captain Rachael Haynes announced she would be unlikely to participate in the season due to family reasons, Hannah Darlington was appointed to stand in as Haynes' replacement.

## Squad

Each 2021–22 squad was made up of 15 active players. Teams could sign up to five 'marquee players', with a maximum of three of those from overseas. Marquees were defined as any overseas player, or a local player who holds a Cricket Australia national contract at the start of the WBBL|07 signing period.
Personnel changes made ahead of the season included:
* English marquees Heather Knight and Tammy Beaumont did not re-sign with the Thunder in anticipation of a clashing schedule with national team duties.
* South African marquee Shabnim Ismail initially re-signed with the Thunder but withdrew from the tournament due to injury.
* Indian marquee Smriti Mandhana signed with the Thunder, returning to the league after previously playing for the Brisbane Heat and Hobart Hurricanes.
* Indian marquee Deepti Sharma and English marquee Issy Wong signed with the Thunder, marking their first appearances in the leagues.
* Rachel Trenaman departed the Thunder, signing with the Hobart Hurricanes.
* Corinne Hall signed with the Thunder, departing the Hobart Hurricanes.
* Having planned to miss the opening weeks while on parental leave, Rachael Haynes announced she would only be able to re-join the team later in the tournament pending sufficient changes to state border closures.
Changes made during the season included:
* Emily Smith was signed as a local replacement player, replacing Tahlia Wilson (leg injury) for one game on 16 October 2021.
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 ||||||||||||||
| 29 | Corinne Hall | 12 October 1987 | Right-handed | Right-arm off spin | 10 | 90 | 83.33 | – | – | 1 | – | |
| 15 | Rachael Haynes | 26 December 1986 | Left-handed | Left-arm medium | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Captain, Australian marquee |
| 4 | Anika Learoyd | 14 April 2002 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg spin | 11 | 92 | 78.63 | 0 | 15.50 | 1 | – | |
| 36 | Phoebe Litchfield | 18 April 2003 | Left-handed | Right-arm leg spin | 13 | 263 | 109.12 | – | – | 9 | – | |
| 81 | Smriti Mandhana | 18 July 1996 | Left-handed | Right-arm off spin | 13 | 377 | 130.44 | – | – | 4 | – | Overseas marquee |
| All-rounders ||||||||||||||
| 58 | Sammy-Jo Johnson | 5 November 1992 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium fast | 11 | 146 | 125.86 | 10 | 7.66 | 1 | – | |
| 33 | Kate Peterson | 3 December 2002 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium fast | 7 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 10.33 | 3 | – | |
| 14 | Olivia Porter | 14 November 2001 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 24 | Deepti Sharma | 24 August 1997 | Left-handed | Right-arm off spin | 13 | 211 | 106.56 | 13 | 7.15 | 8 | – | Overseas marquee |
| Wicket-keepers ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Emily Smith | 19 January 1995 | Right-handed | – | 1 | 5 | 125.00 | – | – | 0 | 2 | Injury replacement |
| 21 | Tahlia Wilson | 21 October 1999 | Right-handed | – | 12 | 178 | 81.65 | – | – | 3 | 2 | |
| Bowlers ||||||||||||||
| 34 | Samantha Bates | 17 August 1992 | Right-handed | Left-arm orthodox | 13 | 2 | 66.66 | 12 | 5.76 | 2 | – | |
| 25 | Hannah Darlington | 25 January 2002 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | 13 | 60 | 105.26 | 16 | 6.38 | 4 | – | Acting captain |
| 12 | Jessica Davidson | 3 May 2003 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium fast | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 2 | Lauren Smith | 6 October 1996 | Right-handed | Right-arm off spin | 13 | 41 | 105.12 | 4 | 8.66 | 3 | – | |
| 8 | Issy Wong | 15 May 2002 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium fast | 13 | 56 | 155.55 | 9 | 7.27 | 2 | – | Overseas marquee |

## Ladder

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
| 1 | Perth Scorchers (C) | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 0.649 |
| 2 | Melbourne Renegades (CF) | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 18 | −0.149 |
| 3 | Brisbane Heat (EF) | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 0.517 |
| 4 | Adelaide Strikers (RU) | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 0.707 |
| 5 | Melbourne Stars | 14 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 12 | −0.385 |
| 6 | Hobart Hurricanes | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 11 | −0.258 |
| 7 | Sydney Thunder | 14 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 10 | −0.301 |
| 8 | Sydney Sixers | 14 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 9 | −0.704 |
* The top 4 teams advanced to the knockout phase

## Fixtures

All times are local
* Match 3 16 October 2021 19:05 (N) Scorecard
| Adelaide Strikers 7/140 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Thunder 110 (19.2 overs) |
| Tahlia McGrath 42 (34) Lauren Smith 2/17 (2 overs) | | Corinne Hall 38 (35) Tahlia McGrath 3/17 (4 overs) |
* Adelaide Strikers won by 30 runs Blundstone Arena, Hobart Umpires: Simon Lightbody and Mattis van Eck Player of the match: Tahlia McGrath (Adelaide Strikers)
* Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to field.
* Broadcast by Seven Network and Foxtel
* At 19 years and 264 days, Hannah Darlington (Sydney Thunder) became the youngest player to captain a team in a WBBL match.
* Match 12 23 October 2021 15:40 Scorecard
| Sydney Thunder | v | Sydney Sixers |
* Match abandoned University of Tasmania Stadium, Launceston Umpires: Claire Polosak and Muhammad Qureshi
* No toss
* No play was possible due to rain.
* Broadcast by Seven Network and Foxtel
* Match 16 24 October 2021 17:15 (D/N) Scorecard
| Perth Scorchers 2/186 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Thunder 9/105 (20 overs) |
| Sophie Devine 101 (60) Issy Wong 1/24 (3 overs) | | Phoebe Litchfield 24 (34) Alana King 4/11 (4 overs) |
* Perth Scorchers won by 81 runs University of Tasmania Stadium, Launceston Umpires: Andrew Crozier and Simon Lightbody Player of the match: Sophie Devine (Perth Scorchers)
* Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to field.
* Broadcast by Seven Network and Foxtel
* Match 17 26 October 2021 13:25 Scorecard
| Melbourne Stars 7/108 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Thunder 5/96 (20 overs) |
| Elyse Villani 52 (63) Issy Wong 2/19 (4 overs) | | Deepti Sharma 44* (48) Kim Garth 3/11 (4 overs) |
* Melbourne Stars won by 12 runs University of Tasmania Stadium, Launceston Umpires: Andrew Crozier and David Taylor Player of the match: Kim Garth (Melbourne Stars)
* Melbourne Stars won the toss and elected to bat.
* Broadcast by Cricket Network and Foxtel
* Match 19 27 October 2021 13:25 Scorecard
| Melbourne Renegades 5/142 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Thunder 8/133 (20 overs) |
| Jemimah Rodrigues 75* (56) Kate Peterson 1/10 (2 overs) | | Smriti Mandhana 64 (44) Courtney Webb 3/21 (3 overs) |
* Melbourne Renegades won by 9 runs University of Tasmania Stadium, Launceston Umpires: Andrew Crozier and Roberto Howard Player of the match: Jemimah Rodrigues (Melbourne Renegades)
* Melbourne Renegades won the toss and elected to bat.
* Broadcast by Cricket Network and Foxtel
* Match 22 30 October 2021 16:05 (D/N) Scorecard
| Sydney Thunder 5/133 (20 overs) | v | Melbourne Stars 8/114 (20 overs) |
| Tahlia Wilson 53 (53) Erin Osborne 2/25 (4 overs) | | Elyse Villani 38 (31) Deepti Sharma 3/25 (4 overs) |
* Sydney Thunder won by 19 runs University of Tasmania Stadium, Launceston Umpires: Roberto Howard and Jeremiah Matibiri Player of the match: Samantha Bates (Sydney Thunder)
* Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to bat.
* Broadcast by Cricket Network and Foxtel
* Match 25 31 October 2021 10:15 Scorecard
| Sydney Thunder 6/146 (20 overs) | v | Hobart Hurricanes 8/109 (20 overs) |
| Smriti Mandhana 50 (50) Nicola Carey 2/36 (4 overs) | | Mignon du Preez 41 (39) Deepti Sharma 3/13 (4 overs) |
* Sydney Thunder won by 37 runs University of Tasmania Stadium, Launceston Umpires: Shawn Craig and Roberto Howard Player of the match: Deepti Sharma (Sydney Thunder)
* Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to bat.
* Broadcast by Seven Network and Foxtel
* Match 34 7 November 2021 9:45 Scorecard
| Sydney Thunder 7/143 (20 overs) | v | Brisbane Heat 5/144 (18.2 overs) |
| Phoebe Litchfield 40 (32) Poonam Yadav 3/17 (4 overs) | | Georgia Redmayne 57 (45) Hannah Darlington 3/21 (4 overs) |
* Brisbane Heat won by 5 wickets (with 10 balls remaining) Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Umpires: Claire Polosak and Harsimran Singh Player of the match: Georgia Redmayne (Brisbane Heat)
* Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to bat.
* Broadcast by Seven Network and Foxtel
* Match 38 9 November 2021 17:30 (D/N) Scorecard
| Adelaide Strikers 4/176 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Thunder 6/158 (20 overs) |
| Dane van Niekerk 58 (46) Sammy-Jo Johnson 2/25 (4 overs) | | Issy Wong 43 (17) Tahlia McGrath 2/20 (4 overs) |
* Adelaide Strikers won by 18 runs Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide Umpires: Nathan Johnstone and Simon Lightbody Player of the match: Laura Wolvaardt (Adelaide Strikers)
* Adelaide Strikers won the toss and elected to bat.
* Broadcast by Cricket Network and Foxtel
* Match 41 11 November 2021 12:55 Scorecard
| Perth Scorchers 2/184 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Thunder 1/21 (2.3 overs) |
| Beth Mooney 83* (53) Hannah Darlington 1/32 (4 overs) | | Smriti Mandhana 12* (8) Marizanne Kapp 1/8 (1.3 overs) |
* No result Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide Umpires: D Bhatt and Nathan Johnstone
* Perth Scorchers won the toss and elected to bat.
* No further play was possible due to rain.
* Broadcast by Cricket Network and Foxtel
* Match 46 14 November 2021 12:40 Scorecard
| Sydney Sixers 6/94 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Thunder 4/96 (15.2 overs) |
| Ellyse Perry 40* (40) Hannah Darlington 2/15 (4 overs) | | Smriti Mandhana 45 (39) Lauren Cheatle 3/15 (4 overs) |
* Sydney Thunder won by 6 wickets (with 28 balls remaining) Harrup Park, Mackay Umpires: Stephen Dionysius and David Taylor Player of the match: Issy Wong (Sydney Thunder)
* Sydney Sixers won the toss and elected to bat.
* Broadcast by Seven Network and Foxtel
* Brisbane Heat qualified for finals.
* Match 48 17 November 2021 18:05 (N) Scorecard
| Melbourne Renegades 4/175 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Thunder 2/171 (20 overs) |
| Harmanpreet Kaur 81* (55) Samantha Bates 2/21 (4 overs) | | Smriti Mandhana 114* (64) Rhiann O'Donnell 1/25 (3 overs) |
* Melbourne Renegades won by 4 runs Harrup Park, Mackay Umpires: Joshua Adie and Nathan James Player of the match: Smriti Mandhana (Sydney Thunder)
* Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to field.
* Broadcast by Cricket Network and Foxtel
* Smriti Mandhana (Sydney Thunder) equalled the WBBL record for most runs scored in an innings.
* Sydney Thunder were eliminated from finals contention.
* Match 50 19 November 2021 18:05 (D/N) Scorecard
| Sydney Thunder 5/162 (20 overs) | v | Brisbane Heat 9/153 (20 overs) |
| Sammy-Jo Johnson 52 (36) Nadine de Klerk 1/15 (3 overs) | | Georgia Redmayne 54 (52) Deepti Sharma 2/21 (4 overs) |
* Sydney Thunder won by 9 runs Harrup Park, Mackay Umpires: Joshua Adie and Steven Farrell Player of the match: Sammy-Jo Johnson (Sydney Thunder)
* Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to bat.
* Broadcast by Cricket Network and Foxtel
* Match 53 20 November 2021 14:40 Scorecard
| Hobart Hurricanes 5/147 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Thunder 9/143 (20 overs) |
| Mignon du Preez 87* (61) Samantha Bates 2/22 (4 overs) | | Sammy-Jo Johnson 39 (21) Belinda Vakarewa 3/8 (4 overs) |
* Hobart Hurricanes won by 4 runs Harrup Park, Mackay Umpires: Joshua Adie and Stephen Dionysius Player of the match: Belinda Vakarewa (Hobart Hurricanes)
* Hobart Hurricanes won the toss and elected to bat.
* Broadcast by Cricket Network and Foxtel

## Statistics and awards

* Most runs: Smriti Mandhana – 377 (10th in the league)
* Highest score in an innings: Smriti Mandhana – 114* (64) vs Melbourne Renegades, 17 November 2021
* Most wickets: Hannah Darlington – 16 (equal 5th in the league)
* Best bowling figures in an innings: Deepti Sharma – 3/13 (4 overs) vs Hobart Hurricanes, 31 October 2021
* Most catches (fielder): Phoebe Litchfield – 9 (4th in the league)
* Player of the Match awards:
** Samantha Bates, Sammy-Jo Johnson, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Issy Wong – 1 each
* WBBL|07 Team of the Tournament: Hannah Darlington
* WBBL|07 Young Gun Award: Phoebe Litchfield
* Alex Blackwell Medallist: Smriti Mandhana