Sydney Thunder’s dismal Big Bash League season ended with barely a whimper at Sydney Showground Stadium on Wednesday night when they were whacked with the wooden spoon without a ball being bowled.
At 8:35pm umpires declared that Thunder’s final round clash with Melbourne Renegades was abandoned due to rain which barely stopped all evening.
It was Thunder’s third rain-affected game this season and sees the western Sydney franchise with just one win in 10 games for 2023/24. It is their fifth wooden spoon in 13 seasons.
Thunder captain Chris Green said his team had “hoped to get some pride back tonight and give the fans what they deserve.”
“I’ve spoken throughout, we’ve been short with the bat, particularly through the middle phase … we’ve only scored three 50s,” Green said. “Lots of scores of 15, 20, the odd 30, which has left us 15, 20 runs short.
“Good teams in this competition, with small margins, you’re going to be found out each time.”
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Green grabs SCREAMER at gully | 00:34
Not Panic Stations
“It is not panic stations,” Green said. “We’re not going to throw everybody out. We had our rebuilding phase nine years ago at the Sydney Thunder.
“This is the first year in six we’ve missed out on finals. It’s a blip on the radar and I honestly believe we’ll be better for it.”
Green said there would be no post-season ‘honesty session’ because the players have been honest all year.
“We’ve been honest with ourselves throughout,” he said. “You ask all the individuals, we haven’t been at our best.
“But even without being at our best we’ve pushed all the good teams to close losses. It shows if we do play our best cricket we can match it and beat the best teams.
“It’s the frustrating thing – we’ve never been able to play our best cricket in the nine games so far.”
Soggy Marsh
It was a damp squib, too, for fans who’d hoped to see 40-year-old West Australian Shaun Marsh playing his final game of cricket.
Media attempted to speak with the 40-year-old but he was “done with media,” according to a Renegades media official.
Marsh has the third-highest all-time BBL batting average with 40.44, just behind Brad Hodge (42.8) and Steve Smith (41.2)
Warm Warner
Retired Test man David Warner, sporting a multi-coloured child’s umbrella, signed autographs and took selfies for fans who had remained at the ground right up until it was called off.
Warner will travel to Dubai to turn out for Dubai Capitals in the ICTL20 before a stint in the Indian Premier League with Delhi Capitals.
Cricket Australia will fly Warner home for T20 internationals against the West Indies in Hobart, Adelaide and Perth from February 9-13. The games will be his last internationals in Australia.
The 37-year-old has said he will retire from all international cricket after June’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean.