Predicting Sydney Thunder Women’s Playing XI for their match against Hobart Hurricanes Women in WBBL

Sydney Thunder women will be taking on the Hobart Hurricanes women in their second match of the WBBL 2024/25. The match is set to take place at the North Sydney Oval at 1:45 PM (IST). After sustaining a big defeat and hence a dent on their NRR in their previous encounter, the Thunder women will be hoping to stage a big comeback.

No better way to do it than the team against whom they lost in their previous encounter. Hobart Hurricanes women beat the Thunder women convincingly by 31 runs. As a result, Sydney find themselves in the last spot in the points table with a negative net run rate of -1.550. They would be hoping to claim a big win to give back to Hobart Hurricanes women.

Here is the probable playing XI of the Sydney Thunder women against Hobart Hurricanes women for the Match 7 of the WBBL 2024/25.

Top Order  

The Thunder women have a stacked top order. In Chamari Athapaththu, they have one of the most aggressive openers and someone who can bowl some overs. In the first match, she bagged a golden duck and will hope to put on a better performance with the bat. With the ball, she gave a good performance and claimed 2/26 in her 4 overs.

To accompany her at the other end would be Georgia Voll. Much like the Sri Lankan, she wasn’t as impressive as a batter, managing just 8(7). She would hope to change things around in the rematch. At number 3, the Thunder women have Phoebe Litchfield, the skipper herself. She was good in the last match, managing to score 51(37) in her team’s loss.

Middle Order 

In the middle order, the Thunder women have some emerging talents. Tahlia Wilson will keep the wickets for them. In the last match, she scored 3(4) before claiming a stumping for her name. She would hope for a better show with the bat. At number 5, Georgia Adams is likely to be backed. She did not have a great outing in the first match either.

The middle order batter managed to score 3(6) and had a negative impact on her side. She did fine with the ball claiming 1/16 in her 2 overs. At number 6, the Thunder women are likely to continue with Anika Learoyd. She was the second highest run scorer for her side in the first match managing to score 29(27). She additionally claimed a good catch to dismiss Wyatt.

Lower Middle Order 

In the lower middle order, the Thunder women have players who can provide a good balance to their side. At number 7, Sammy-Jo Johnson is likely to get a longer run. The emerging talent scored 1(3) in the first match. However, she was good with the ball, claiming 1/19 in her 4 overs. She also claimed a catch to dismiss the skipper Villani.

To follow her at number 8 is likely to be Ella Briscoe. She did not have to bowl against the Hurricanes in the first match. With the bat, she scored 6(11)* and remained unbeaten. If necessary, she can bat a position or two higher up the order and anchor the innings. If required, she can play brisk knocks lower down the order.

Bowlers 

The Thunder women have a good bowling lineup. Hannah Darlington unfortunately had a forgettable night in the first match. In her 2 overs, she conceded 28 runs and let the game slip away from her side. She must improve her line and length. Shabnim Ismail, being the world class bowler, could not claim wickets for her side. 

The Thunder women would hope to see her claim wickets early in the innings. Despite being in the fag end of her career, the South African is still the quickest bowler in the world. Samantha Bates was the best bowler for the Thunder women in the first game. In her 4 overs, she claimed 3/20 including the wicket of Lizelle Lee. She holds the key for the Thunder women.

Sydney Thunder Women’s playing XI against the Hobart Hurricanes women –

Chamari Athapaththu, Georgia Voll, Phoebe Litchfield (C), Tahlia Wilson (WK), Georgia Adams, Anika Learoyd, Sammy-Jo Johnson, Ella Briscoe, Hannah Darlington, Shabnim Ismail, Samantha Bates