Thunder roll from easy beats to finalists

Usman Khawaja might be playing for another KFC Big Bash League club if it wasn't for Mike Hussey.

Khawaja scored his second unbeaten century of BBL|05 on Thursday night, guiding the Sydney Thunder to an eight-wicket win over the Adelaide Strikers to reach their maiden Big Final, to be played on Sunday.

But after two horror opening seasons for the club, which was winless in its second campaign, Khawaja says it was a chat with the newly-signed Hussey that kept him at the Thunder and ultimately turned their fortunes around.

"It was tough because you play cricket to win, and you're trying your best and you're still not winning," Khawaja said following the Thunder's resounding semi-final victory.

"And you're trying your best again and you're still not winning.

"It's a bit of a helpless feeling at times.

"There was times when I thought 'do I want to be in this team still, what do I want to do?'.

"When Huss (captain Mike Hussey) came on board (for BBL|03) I thought we had a really good chance of picking up this team from the bottom and bringing them back up.

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"I remember having a chat to Huss when he first came on and said ,'Look, the Thunder is close to my heart, I grew up in Western Sydney, I think we can do this, it might take a little bit of time'.

"I think that's why he came over (from Perth Scorchers) for the challenge and we're reaping the rewards now.

"I'm hoping we can reap the rewards one more time in the final."

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Off the back of match-winning centuries to ex-squad members David Warner and Chris Gayle, respectively, in their first two matches, the Thunder went winless in their next 19.

Hussey was the captain for the last six of those losses, and Nick Cummins, who replaced former Australia Test cricket John Dyson, was the general manager.

Change was in the air. The Thunder snapped their losing streak with a resounding nine-wicket win over the Melbourne Renegades in January 2014.

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The following season, with a playing group that had undergone further plastic surgery, Hussey's men won two of their first four matches before finishing seventh.

But optimism was around the club.

Cummins had restocked the backroom staff with quality operators, and with Hussey leading a strong list including names like Khawaja, Jacques Kallis, Shane Watson and Andre Russell, the Thunder were one of the pre-season favourites to not only make the BBL|05 finals, but win the whole lot.

Three wins from their first three starts firmed that favouritism, but even after four straight losses, the spirit in the camp remained the same: upbeat, positive, learning.

A thumping of cross-town rivals, the Sydney Sixers, in their final regular season clash vindicated that belief, the same belief that secured the club's first ever finals win at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday evening.

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Looking back to where it all began, Khawaja said the improvement on the field had mirrored the advancements off it.

"The overall roster is a big change, it's a lot more balanced now than it used to be," Khawaja said of the Thunder's transformation from easy beats to BBL finalists. 

"We've got experience, we've got youth, we've got hitters, we've got good batsmen, we've got decent bowlers, we've got pace, then a bit of spin.

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"There's a lot been done behind the scenes from Nick Cummins our GM, he's done a lot over the past three years, hired some really good people around – there's a really good vibe outside the cricket team which has helped the guys on the field.

"And they're the hidden heroes who don't get the congratulations they should.

"There's a lot going on, you can't point a finger at one thing. It's been a good couple of years."