Cricinfo - Players and Officials

Full name Dominic John Thornely
Born October 1, 1978, Albury, New South Wales
Current age 30 years 10 days
Major teams Hampshire, Mumbai Indians, New South Wales, Surrey
Nickname DT
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm medium, Right-arm offbreak
Height 1.97 m

Batting and fielding averages

Mat

Inns

Runs

Ave

100

First-class

117

4390

261*

43.03

List A

1943

107*

28.15

2567

75.69

Twenty20

464

67*

23.20

377

123.07

Bowling averages

Mat

Inns

Balls

Runs

Wkts

BBI

BBM

Ave

Econ

First-class

3756

1818

3/38

37.87

2.90

78.2

List A

1701

1496

3/17

31.82

5.27

36.1

Twenty20

287

383

4/22

18.23

8.00

13.6

Career statistics

First-class debut

2003/04

Last First-class

New South Wales v Victoria at Sydney, Mar 15-19, 2008 scorecard

List A debut

2001/02

Last List A

Western Australia v New South Wales at Perth, Oct 8, 2008 scorecard

Twenty20 debut

Australia A v Pakistanis at Adelaide, Jan 13, 2005 scorecard

Last Twenty20

Deccan Chargers v Mumbai Indians at Hyderabad (Decc), May 18, 2008 scorecard

Dominic Thornely was discussed as a possible Test player for the 2005 Ashes following a dramatic season of 1065 first-class runs, four centuries, five fifties and an average of 62.65. New South Wales needed someone to attempt to fill the massive holes left by the Waugh brothers, Michael Slater and Michael Bevan, who departed for retirement or Tasmania the previous off-season, and Thornely stepped in with aggressive responsibility to be a crucial factor in the Pura Cup-winning campaign. The highlight of the starry-eyed season was undoubtedly scoring 261 against Western Australia at the SCG and beating David Hookes' record for first-class sixes with 11. The innings also included a barely believable 219-run stand for the last wicket with Stuart MacGill, who scored 27 as they turned from trouble to triumph.

Nicknamed "The Dominator", Thornely can also defend when necessary, but he is at his best when driving, cutting and pulling boundaries. His next season was not as loud, although he still managed a highly credible 698 runs at 45.87 with a century against Tasmania. Another solid effort in 2006-07 brought 801 runs at 42.15 and he had the dubious honour of being stand-in captain as the Blues crashed to their lowest Pura Cup score of 53 against Tasmania. However, Thornely led the second-innings fightback with 138 and he was also one of his side's better contributors in the lost final. More leadership opportunities are likely in 2008-09, with the expected international absences of Simon Katich and Brad Haddin. If he repeats his efforts of last season, when he picked up 551 runs and 11 useful first-class wickets, he will remain an essential fixture.

Rod Marsh, the then Academy director, said Thornely was one of the best graduates of the institution and recommended him for the state team aged 17. However, he did not make his debut until 25 and was working at the management company that looks after Brett Lee when asked to become a Blue. He made an early impression by compiling 143 against Victoria at Newcastle and earned Australia A selection in his first season. A superb catcher and handy medium pacer, Thornely is suited to the limited-overs game, but his major gains have come in the first-class arena. An overseas assignment at Surrey in 2005 placed him geographically close to the Test team without international reward, and he returned to England in 2006 for a stint with Hampshire. In 2008 he joined the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, playing six games for a squad which included Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya.
Peter English September 2008

Mar 16, 2008

Stuart Clark and Dominic Thornely appeal for a run-out against Nick Jewell © Getty Images

Nov 7, 2007

Dominic Thornely slugged a quickfire 68 to boost New South Wales late on © Getty Images

Mar 22, 2007

Dominic Thornely thinks of what might have been after dropping Sean Clingeleffer on 48 © Getty Images

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