Heather Knight, the current captain of England, will take over as captain of the Sydney Thunder for the Women's Big Bash League this year. Her predecessor, Rachael Haynes, has retired.

The Thunder were last place in the standings from the previous season, but they had a successful draft a month ago and were able to choose South African all-rounder Marizanne Kapp and English fast Lauren Bell in addition to Knight.

It implies that Knight will connect back up in a leadership position with Lisa Keightley, who was the previous England coach and currently serves as the head coach of the Thunder. Lisa Keightley replaced Trevor Griffin as head coach of the Thunder after the 2022-2023 season ended with just one win in 14 matches.

Formerly a member of the Thunder squad that triumphed in the championship match in 2020-21, when Knight was the team's best run-scorer with 446 runs scored at an average of 40.54 and a strike-rate of 124.92.

"We're thrilled to have Heather captain Thunder this summer. She's an incredibly experienced leader and the perfect fit to take us into this new era at the club. She's one of the most gutsy and determined individuals I've worked with and I'm excited to see the effect she'll have on the group. Her positive energy will be a great asset to an already strong side with the other international signings and domestic players we have lined up,” Knightley said.

The WBBL season for the Thunder will begin on October 22 at North Sydney Oval with a matchup against the Sydney Sixers in a "local derby."