Jaw dropping sixes and quick-fire wickets? Say no more – this year’s installment of the Big Bash has more bang for your buck than ever before.
There’s perhaps no bigger name in the Big Bash than the Thunder, although Sydney’s number one team has very little to show for their efforts.
The Thunder will be hoping to make just their second Finals appearance this season behind a bolstered lineup choc-full of international talent, as well as two big name Englishman and a handful of top-class Aussies.
We’ve analysed everything you need to know and our complete 2018/19 Sydney Thunder Preview can be found below.
2018/19 Sydney Thunder Big Bash Odds
2018/19 Sydney Thunder Squad
- Anton Devcich
- Arjun Nair
- Callum Ferguson
- Chris Green
- Chris Jordan
- Daniel Sams
- Fawad Ahmed
- Gurinder Sandhu
- Jason Sangha
- Jay Lenton
- Joe Root
- Jos Buttler
- Kurtis Patterson
- Liam Hatcher
- Nathan McAndrew
- Pat Cummins
- Ryan Gibson
- Sam Rainbird
- Shane Watson (c)
- Usman Khawaja
Past & Present
- 2017 Finish: 6th
- 2018 Predicted Finish: 5th
2017/18 Betting Statistics
- Overall Record: 4-6
- Home: 2-3
- Away: 2-3
- Favourites: 2-2
- Underdogs: 1-3
Analysis
You’d be forgiven for looking at the Thunder’s squad and gawking at the long odds on offer.
That is until you remember just about all of their stars are likely to play in reduced roles this season, namely Pat Cummins and Usman Khawaja who will be occupied with international duties. Likewise, England’s very own captain Joe Root will likely feature in only a handful of games, which at the very least should make for some interesting headlines alongside Shane Watson and fellow English star Jos Buttler.
The glass half full: Buttler is a great opening order batsman that should keep the Thunder in the bulk of matches this season if he can dig in and put up some nice totals.
The glass half empty: the Thunder have featured a range of big-name international talent before, and produced nothing more than one finals appearance in seven seasons.
Best Bet: Top Thunder Runscorer – Shane Watson @ $2.25
Even at age 37, Watto is still one of the best white-ballers going.
He’s averaging 29.82 T20 runs, and should be helped out enormously this year with the addition of Jos Buttler atop the order. The pair will form a dynamic duo as the Thunder’s opening partnership and if Watson can start off on the right foot, the Thunder could upset a handful of opponents.