Tom Andrews journeys from office to Big Bash finals in space of a month

Tom Andrews, a month ago a financial planner, is now alongside superstars like David Warner and Sam Konstas, plotting a fairytale BBL championship run for the Sydney Thunder. After not being offered a contract renewal by Tasmania following the 2022/23 season, the Darwin-born all-rounder accepted that his nine-year professional career was over.

In that time, he played 17 first-class matches and 36 one-day games. While his career may not have reached the heights of former teammates Travis Head or Adam Zampa, he knew he could be proud of it. “I signed for nine years, so there was no ‘what if I did this or that’ in my mind,” the 30-year-old said. “That made it easier to walk away.”

Andrews packed his bags and moved back to Adelaide, where he finished high school and played six years for South Australia. He began studying to become a financial advisor and found a job in the Adelaide CBD. For the first time since Andrews could remember, cricket took a back seat. He still bowled his left-arm unorthodox spin for grade side Adelaide Port and agreed to help out when needed with the Adelaide Strikers’ academy team. University studies and a full-time job meant even attending Strikers’ training was a struggle.

But Andrews still managed to join his younger teammates for some practice matches in Sydney against the Sixers and Thunder. A few days later, in mid-December, Andrews received a phone call from Thunder general manager Trent Copeland that changed everything. The injury-hit Thunder were desperate for reinforcements. “Copes rang me and said, ‘Do you want to come over?’” Andrews said, “I had to quickly ring my boss and say, ‘Can I have some time off? Probably about a month.’ I was lucky they let me do it.”

Andrews hasn’t looked back. The aspiring finance expert has taken the wickets of Australian white-ball international Aaron Hardie and New Zealand legend Colin Munro in his six matches to date. On Monday, Andrews was named player of the match in the win over the Perth Scorchers, a result that qualified last season's wooden spooners for the BBL finals. Coming in at No. 9, Andrews smashed 37 off 13 balls on a difficult ENGIE Stadium pitch, while Warner and Sam Billings both made single-figure scores. “I feel like I’ve come in and played my role and I’m happy with that,” Andrews said.

He now turns his attention to Friday’s match against the Sixers at the SCG, where a Thunder victory would likely confirm a double chance in the finals. After finishing training for that match and the upcoming finals, Andrews will hit the books: his final year of university studies begins this week. “I’m pretty much studying for the rest of the night, that’s when I’m not at cricket training and games on the weekend,” he said. The affable financial planner is well aware of the unlikely success story. His return to cricket is one of them. When Friday’s match is over, he’ll turn his attention to helping write another, as the Thunder chase their second BBL title. “It would be amazing,” Andrews said, “While we’re enjoying the process of getting into the finals, we’ve got to focus on the next step, not just getting into the finals, but hopefully winning a couple of games.”