Billings credits Thunder turnaround to Warner's leadership

The Sydney Thunder owe much of their rise up the KFC BBL standings to "huge" impact of David Warner's leadership, according to marquee signing Sam Billings.

Warner, 38, was installed as Thunder captain shortly after his captaincy ban was overturned by Cricket Australia in October and after an eighth-placed finish last season, the Thunder have already locked in their BBL|14 finals place.

Under the veteran coach Trevor Bayliss, Warner heads a leadership group containing Billings and former captain Chris Green, making their leaders among the most credentialled in the tournament.

The Thunder have won five of their eight completed matches this season (with two washouts) after winning only one match for the entire campaign last season.

And Englishman Billings says the happy mood in the lime green camp can be traced back to Warner.

"Everyone sees the on-field energy that he (Warner) brings, but off field, he's been absolutely phenomenal," Billings told reporters in Sydney on Sunday.

"People have this perception around him, but he's incredible in terms of the conversations he has with individuals and the consistent drive (he has).

"You see why he's one of the best players in the world, still at the age of 38, I'm learning off him every day

"It's impossible not to learn off him, from a cricketing point of view. He's been brilliant."

The 33-year-old Billings was signed by the Thunder on a three-year deal prior to the season, prizing him away from the Brisbane Heat, where he played after representing the Thunder in BBL|10 and BBL|11.

The move was a long-term play by the brains trust at the Thunder, who wanted to ensure the squad had consistent leaders in Warner and Billings across multiple seasons.  

"A huge part of the kind of multi-year deal that they wanted me to sign was from a leadership point of view," Billings said.

"We've got a group of senior players who can really drive this forward, and ultimately we want to win trophies.

"Hopefully we can build a bit of a group that is going to go into finals and ultimately win competitions for years going forward."

The Thunder will host either the Perth Scorchers or the Melbourne Stars at ENGIE Stadium on Wednesday in the Knockout final, the first match of the BBL's finals series.

KFC BBL|14 standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Total points PTS
1 Hobart Hurricanes Men HUR	10	7	2	0	1	-0.12	0	15
2 Sydney Sixers Men SIX	10	6	2	0	2	0.156	0	14
3 Sydney Thunder Men THU	10	5	3	0	2	0.34	0	12
4 Melbourne Stars Men STA	10	5	5	0	0	0.135	0	10
5 Perth Scorchers Men SCO	10	4	6	0	0	0.219	0	8
6 Melbourne Renegades Men REN	10	4	6	0	0	0.139	0	8
7 Brisbane Heat Men HEA	10	3	6	0	1	-0.831	0	7
8 Adelaide Strikers Men STR	10	3	7	0	0	-0.122	0	6

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

PTS: Total points