Sydney Thunder (WBBL)
The Sydney Thunder (WBBL) are an Australian women's Twenty20 cricket team based in Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales. They are one of two teams from Sydney to compete in the Women's Big Bash League, the other being the Sydney Sixers. The Thunder have claimed two WBBL titles, winning the league's inaugural championship and the 2020–21 title. History. Formation. One of eight founding WBBL teams, the Sydney Thunder are aligned with the men's team of the same name. At the official WBBL launch on 10 July 2015, Rene Farrell was unveiled as the  team's first-ever player signing. Joanne Broadbent was appointed as inaugural coach, while Alex Blackwell became the inaugural captain. The Thunder played their first game on 6 December against the Sydney Sixers at Howell Oval in Penrith, winning by nine wickets with 40 balls remaining. Rivalries. Brisbane Heat. The Thunder have combined with the Brisbane Heat to produce several "thrillers", including: Perth Scorchers. The Thunder and the Perth Scorchers have met in two semi-finals: Due to a scheduling quirk, the two teams did not meet in the Thunder's home state of New South Wales until the 2020–21  Women's Big Bash League season (when the season was played entirely in Sydney due to uncertainty surrounding state border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic). From 2017 to 2018, five of their regular season encounters were played at Lilac Hill Park and characterised by close finishes, including: Sydney Sixers. At the WBBL|02 season launch, Thunder captain Alex Blackwell said the Sydney Sixers "desperately want to beat us and we desperately want to beat them. It's set up to be a really good rivalry." In a joint media conference ahead of WBBL|05, Sixers captain Ellyse Perry said she considers the  Thunder "our biggest rivals" while the Thunder's Rachel Priest claimed "it was a really intense rivalry right when I started with the team". Noteworthy matches include: Captaincy records. There have been three captains in the Thunder's history, including matches featuring an acting captain. Source: Players. Australian representatives. The following is a list of cricketers who have played for the Thunder after making their debut in the national women's team (the period they spent as both a Thunder squad member and an Australian-capped player is in brackets): Statistics and awards. Team stats. Source: Individual stats. Source: Sydney