Pranks, friendship and a twist of lime secret to Thunder success
YOU have to take the elevator to level nine of the Novotel in Sydney Olympic Park to discover the secret behind Sydney Thunder’s spectacular WBBL06 rise.
Not literally, of course — Cricket Australia’s strict biosecurity measures would never allow the intrusion at the team hotel.
But as the elevator doors open, you are hit with the strong sense of bond that has formed in this squad since they moved into the hotel, as part of the COVID measures, ahead of the season opener five weeks ago.
The hallway is decked out in lime green as the team’s teenagers and international stars make themselves at home.
“From the start, we set the tone as a group, through little things like pranks,” Gold Coaster Sammy-Jo Johnson said. “We’d pick the big dogs, like (English captain) Heather Knight. Myself and a couple of kids, we stole her mattress and hid it in a fire escape. We broke the ice early to get everyone involved.”
There’s eight players aged under 20, including teen sensations Phoebe Litchfield and Hannah Darlington. International stars Knight, Tammy Beaumont and Shabnim Ismail.
Paramedic-in-training Sam Bates and self-professed “revhead” Johnson are there, and don’t forget their valiant leader, Australian vicecaptain Rachael Haynes. All under the watchful eye of their English coach Tervor Griffin.
“We have really different characters, but we embraced everyone,” Johnson said. “I’m the biggest bogan on the planet and all I do is talk about my car. But everyone here appreciates everyone for who they are. No one judges a book by its cover.
“That’s what’s been the difference between us and other squads that haven’t really relished the fact that we’re stuck here in this environment … we just got around each other and it’s been a massive part of our success.”