Like IPL 2016 with SRH, Sydney Thunder is a baby side to reach the final of BBL 2024-25
If you look at David Warner’s latest list of innings in the 2024-25 Big Bash League season, it is not flattering. A score of 11 against Sydney Sixers in the challenger, the two-ball duck against Melbourne star in the knockout, 22 not out in 14 balls in an abandoned match against Sixers, 8 against Perth Scorchers. But he is the best run-getter in the tournament with 357 runs from 11 matches and, most importantly, his team is in the final.
When it seemed like he was at his best, the result of the game was not in Thunder’s favor or the rain played a Spoilsport. However, under his captaincy, the team has found heroes at every difficult step.
Sherfane Rutherford, Oliver Davies, Sam Billings, Daniel Sams, Sam Konstas, Tanveer Sangha have all stepped up at key moments to win matches. That has been the key word for Thunder this season. Win at any cost. Get over the line, margins be damned.
Redemption for Warner and Sydney Thunder
After finishing at the bottom of the pile last season with a solitary victory, they have had a resurgence that many did not predict. Warner’s experience is on full display as he rallies his troops with only match results. In their first match of the season against the Adelaide strikers, they were limping at 149/7, 33 running away from the target with 12 balls in hand.
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Sams became Incredible Hulk star Lloyd Pope for 31 runs in one. Thunder won by two wickets. Against renegades, Thunder walked a tight rope defending 157. After making a sublime 86 not out off 57 balls, Warner risked the final penalty of an extra fielder inside the circle as his bowlers managed to pick eight wickets. The Renegades were left with just eight runs, but they ran out of batters by the time they needed 22 out in the final over.
It’s a similar story to Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2016. Warner took a childish side and led them to their only title. And like Royal Challengers Bangalore – SRH’s opponents in the IPL 2016 final, Thunder will take on Hobart Hurricanes, who have never won the BBL, in Monday’s final. Coincidentally, Thunder had last won the BBL in 2016, which remains their only title.
David Warner rises above grim narratives
Since his international retirement last year, the narrative around Warner has been about reflecting on his dark days. His involvement in the ball-tampering scandal, his downfall with opposition players, being the ‘difficult character’ in the dressing room, his torrid run in consecutive IPL seasons, unsold in the IPL 2025 auction.
Shadowy things fell on the road as the thunder went from strength to strength. Team coach Trevor Bayliss can attest to Warner’s influence.
“The job he has done as captain, it is not just about his batting, for example, it is his personality. He is always willing to do that, he is a positive character. Sometimes loud, unpleasant, but the kids love it,” Bayliss told the Australian Associated Press during the season.
Sam Billings, who had regularly faced Australian snarks while playing for England, also knows what Warner means to the young Thunder team and the T20 format.
“It’s infectious, his attitude and the way he approaches the game. Obviously, as an Englishman who says that, some people at home will curse me. To play alongside him, you learn every day. You see why he is one of the best players to play this format of the game. For us to have that experience and that leadership there, he has played brilliantly this year,” Billings said after the win against the Sydney Sixers in the Challenger.
At 38, IPL crowds might not witness Warner this season or ever, but there is enough to show that he still has fuel left in the tank.
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