Leg Buys: Latest movement, contract news in Australian cricket, Big Bash League
Ahead of a potential overhaul of their playing roster, the Sydney Thunder have installed a familiar face to be in charge of their Big Bash shake-up.
Channel 7 commentator and former Test player Trent Copeland has been put in charge of the Sydney Thunder in a huge Big Bash shake-up.
Copeland has been instilled in a new General Manager role, while former Australian captain Rachael Haynes will take on the newly created General Manager position at the Sydney Sixers, increasing her responsibilities from last season.
It follows on from our Leg Byes column on Wednesday that the Thunder had reached a crossroads after another underwhelming season, with the future of World Cup winning coach Trevor Bayliss up in the air.
Those big decisions lay ahead but the first move has been to give NSW Sheffield Shield veteran and impressive Channel 7 analyst Copeland keys to the Thunder.
Copeland has limited experience in cricket administration but is highly regarded and has a huge work ethic.
Cricket NSW shut down the General Manager roles years ago, but have decided to reinstate them as part of a revamp of the Big Bash programs.
Haynes was praised for her outstanding job as head of the Sixers this season, who went within a whisker of winning the BBL.
Now she steps up into the General Manager position.
It’s understood Copeland hopes to continue his Channel 7 duties along with his new role at the Thunder.
THUNDER STARS CONSIDER FUTURE
Sydney Thunder has reached a crossroads with the future of World Cup-winning coach Trevor Bayliss up in the air.
Bayliss, 61, is out-of-contract and is no guarantee to remain at the club next season.
Big decisions lay ahead.
The Thunder finished bottom of the Big Bash League table during the recently-completed season, winning just one match for the season, albeit two of the side’s matches were washed out.
The former NSW player and coach signed as Thunder coach in mid-2021, steering his team into the finals in both of his first two seasons at the helm before dropping this summer.
Bayliss’ future, as well as the on and off-field direction of the side, are set to be decided via a series of meetings in the coming weeks.
One thing that could work in Bayliss’ favour is his close working relationship with superstar, David Warner, who the Thunder hope to re-sign.
The uncertainty over Bayliss’ position comes with several players exploring their options. It’s understood these include all-rounder and Australian white-ball representative Daniel Sams, who only late last year signed a two-year contract extension with the club.
Paceman Gurinder Sandhu and former captain Jason Sangha are both out-of-contract and potentially on the move.
While questions have been asked internally about whether Bayliss – who coached England to victory in the 2019 World Cup – remains the right man for the job, he remains a widely-respected figure in NSW cricket.
Bayliss also serves as coach of the Indian Premier League’s Punjab Kings, skipping one of Thunder’s matches in December to attend the IPL auction in Dubai.
FREE MILLY
While the Thunder’s BBL operations are in a state of flux, the club is also making moves behind the scenes to bolster its women’s list.
Industry sources have confirmed in recent days that the Thunder has made a strong play for Victorian teenage sensation Milly Illingworth, who is already among the quickest female bowlers in Australia who can reach speeds upwards of 120km/h.
Illingworth, 18, played 11 matches for the Melbourne Stars in her debut Women’s Big Bash League season last summer. While she only took two wickets, she turned heads with her pace.
She is rated highly enough to have earned selection in a 26-player Green v Gold red-ball trial that will feature a bevy of Australia’s top players who are not participating in the Women’s Premier League, although her involvement in that match is in doubt because of a soft-tissue concern.
In any case, the Stars have a battle on their hands to keep the quick, who opted not to extend her contract with the club before the WBBL contract embargo deadline.
Like in the men’s competition, the embargo period – during which clubs cannot sign players – was extended indefinitely.
FEEL THE BURNS
Joe Burns has wasted little time moving on after Queensland all but ended his career with the Bulls.
The former Test opener bobbed up last week in the draft of the Legends Cricket Trophy in Sri Lanka, an event that features several former international stars and overlaps with the end of the Australian domestic season.
Former Aussie all-rounder Dan Christian also featured, as did former New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram and Pakistani star Shahid Afridi.
Such legends tournaments have become challenges for cricket administrators given they are largely unsanctioned by the ICC.
Former Australian captain Aaron Finch had been due to participate in such an event late last year but withdrew.
Finch is now fully free to explore such opportunities after retiring from sanctioned cricket at the end of the Big Bash League season.
Burns’ looming departure from Queensland has ignited industry speculation that the Bulls could make a play to bring back South Australian batter Nathan McSweeney.
He is a Queenslander who moved to the Redbacks three seasons ago but remains on the books of the Brisbane Heat in the BBL.
Leg Buys is Code Sports’ regular column that looks at player and staff movement in cricket, particularly through an Australian prism.
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