The Sixers and Thunder will have separate men’s head coaches to the NSW state team next season
Sydney’s BBL clubs will have separate men’s head coaches to the state team once again with Cricket NSW confirming incoming Blues coach Brad Haddin would not fill either role.
Haddin was confirmed as the next NSW men’s head coach on Wednesday morning, replacing veteran mentor Greg Shipperd after his contract was terminated a year early.
Shipperd was also sacked by Sydney Sixers in January after leading the club to the KFC BBL|15 Final where they went down to Perth Scorchers.
Crosstown rivals Sydney Thunder are also on the hunt for a new men’s coach after the club opted not to renew Trevor Bayliss’ contract. The Thunder finished last in BBL|15, the second time in the past three seasons they have finished at the bottom.
“Haddin’s appointment will not include stewardship of either Sydney Sixers or Sydney Thunder,” CNSW said in a statement. “Both clubs will confirm their men’s head coach appointments in due course.”
Haddin, who was the Sixers’ foundation captain and won a Champions League title with the club in 2012, added he didn’t apply for either BBL position because he felt he could have the “biggest influence” on the state program.
“I’m interested in putting all my energy into what I think can be a really special (NSW) team,” he told reporters in Sydney.
“I’ve had opportunities to coach in different leagues around the world, but this is where I want to be.”
Shipperd had led both the Sixers and NSW men’s teams since taking on the state role when Phil Jaques was let go as Blues coach in November 2022.
In 11 seasons in charge of the Sixers, Shipperd guided the club to two Big Bash titles (BBL|09 and |10) and six grand finals appearances. The team missed the finals just twice during the 69-year-old’s coaching tenure.
Former Australian women’s coach Matthew Mott and white-ball allrounder James Hopes have been linked with the vacant Sixers job in recent days, while Shane Watson and Dan Christian are reportedly candidates for the Thunder position.
Sixers general manager Rachael Haynes said the legacy Shipperd had left at the club would be among “the greatest” the Big Bash will see.
She said they wouldn’t rush list decisions for next season until they had decided on new coach to give them a chance to help shape the future of the club.
“The best group of players to take us forward will definitely be a top priority and they’re all questions that we will work through once we’ve got a head coach in place and they’ve got the opportunity to really shape the list in conjunction with myself and our high-performance staff,” Haynes said.
“I want to make sure the coach has the opportunity to have a say how that looks.
“So they’re the most important person to get into the building and then we’ll work through all those other elements.”
A league-wide contracting embargo has been in place since the end of last month’s Player Movement Window, with no player contracting activity permitted – domestic or international – until it is lifted in coming months.
Non-binding discussions with unsigned players, including Sixers champion Moises Henriques, can continue but new contracts cannot be signed until after the embargo is lifted.
