Who is the most successful captain in BBL history?

List of Most Successful Captain in Big Bash League History

10. Chris Lynn (42% win percentage)

Chris Lynn is the 10th most successful captain in the BBL. The opening batter captained the Brisbane Heat in 50 matches. While leading the side, Lynn guided his team to victory in 21 games at 42%. What worked in his favor was his batting prowess. Lynn is arguably the best batter in the tournament. He holds the record for scoring the most runs in BBL. Along with scoring the most runs, the right-handed batter has also smashed the most fours and sixes in the tournament’s history. He achieved the best result during his captaincy stint in BBL 2016/17. The two-time champions finished second on the points table and ended the season being knocked out in the semi-finals losing in a super-over against Sydney Sixers.

9. Aaron Finch (44.3% win percentage)

Aaron Finch is the 9th most successful captain in the BBL. The former Australian skipper has an unusual record in the BBL. While most players have great records in the domestic league, Finch is someone who performed better in the Australian jersey. Captaining the Melbourne Renegades, Finch led the side in 79 matches winning 35 of them. He had a win percentage of 44.3% during his time at the BBL. 

The opening batter is the only Australian captain to win a T20 World Cup. So his success as a leader can not be judged by what he accomplished in the domestic tournament. In BBL, his best season came in 2018/19, when the Renegades won their only trophy. Finch was not at his best with the bat in hand, however, he led in an inspiring manner. In the final, the Renegades successfully defended 145 runs even after the Melbourne Stars had scored 93 runs without a loss of a wicket.

8. Matthew Wade (46.15% win percentage)

Matthew Wade is the 8th most successful captain in the BBL. The wicketkeeper batter retired with a great record in the BBL. As a batter, Wade scored 2,649 runs and only Glenn Maxwell and Lynn scored more runs at a strike rate which was better than Wade’s 140.75. Captaining the side, Wade was a resilient leader. He captained the Hobart Hurricanes which is unarguably one of the poorest sides in the competition. In 52 matches where Wade led the Hurricanes, the team won 24 matches with a win percentage of 46.15%. 

The Hurricanes have never won the BBL trophy, but with Wade in charge, they enjoyed their most success. Out of the six times, the Hurricanes have qualified for the playoffs, Wade was leading them on three occasions. In his first season as the captain, he led the Hurricanes to finish at the top of the points table which is their best-ever finish on the table.

7. Callum Ferguson (50% win percentage)

Callum Ferguson is the 7th most successful captain in the BBL. The South Australian captained Sydney Thunder in 32 matches and won half of them. Ferguson had a classy nature of batting which is only seen in seasoned international players. However, all through his career, the batter has had to face injuries, especially to his knees that keep him out of the competition.

Ferguson like Wade captained a team that has been unsuccessful most of the time in the league. Similarly to Wade’s Hurricanes, Sydney Thunder too enjoyed relative success under Ferguson’s leadership. In 2019/20 and 2020/21, the Thunder under his leadership made it to the playoffs. Apart from 2015/16 when the Thunder won their only trophy, being knocked out in the Challenger in 2019/20 is their second-best season in the history of the Big Bash League.

6. Johan Botha (51.61% win percentage)

Johan Botha is the 6th most successful captain in the BBL. The South African all-rounder has been the best captain among overseas skippers in the tournament’s history. He was one of the first specialists in limited overs from the Rainbow Nation. He is one of the two players on this list to have captained two sides. Botha captained the Adelaide Strikers and the Sydney Sixers. In 31 matches he led the two sides, his team won 16 games with an impressive win percentage of 51.61%.

With the Strikers in 2014/15, Botha led the team to their first playoffs. The semi-finalists finished at the top of the points table and lost their last match to the Sydney Sixers. With the Sixers, Botha led the three-time champions to a runner-up finish in 2016/17. Had the Sixers not faced off with one of the most dangerous teams in the BBL in the final Botha might have a trophy to show for his captaincy performances.

5. Glenn Maxwell (52.3% win percentage)

Glenn Maxwell is the 5th most successful captain in the BBL. The all-rounder is undoubtedly Australia’s best T20 player in recent history. Maxwell has the most underrated captaincy records in the tournament. Leading Melbourne Stars in 65 matches, Maxwell led them to victory on 34 occasions. He boasted a win percentage of 52.3 before stepping away from the position in 2024/25. He relinquished captaincy with Marcus Stoinis replacing him.

The Stars along with the Hurricanes are one of the two teams who have never won the trophy. They have reached the finals thrice although. Two of the final appearances came with Maxwell leading the side in 2018/19 and 2019/20. Both the finals were lost by the Stars by a fairly close margin. They met the Renegades in 2018/19 and lost the final by 13 runs. In 2019/20, the Stars faced off against the Sixers and lost the match by 19 runs.

4. Cameron White (56.25% win percentage)

Cameron White is the 4th most successful captain in the BBL. The former Aussie skipper has a win percentage of 56.25% in the Big Bash League. White and his team were on the winning side on 18 occasions out of the 31 matches he was the captain. He has the best captaincy record for someone who has captained more than one team. White enjoyed most of his success as a skipper in his first stint.

In the BBL, he captained the Melbourne Stars in 2011/12, 2013/14, and 2014/15. In these three seasons, the Stars finished 4th, 1st, and 3rd respectively on the points table. But unfortunately for the captain, the journey inevitably ended in the semi-finals in all these seasons. He made a move to the inter-city rivals, the Renegades. Captaining them in 2015/16 and 2016/17, White could not get them to qualify in the playoffs and finished 5th on the points table in both seasons.

3. Moises Henriques (57.75% win percentage)

Moises Henriques is the 3rd most successful captain in the BBL. The skipper for Sydney Sixers is the only player to have led his team in more than 100 matches. In spite of the large sample size of 116 matches, Henriques boasts an impressive captaincy record with a win percentage of 57.75%. Henriques has won 67 matches out of 116 games in which he was the captain. Sydney Sixers under Henriques has been one of the best teams in the tournament. He was at the helm of the three-time champions for two of their three victories.

Henriques as the leader had the most success in 2019/20 and 2020/21. The Sixers won the trophy back-to-back and became only the second team after the Perth Scorchers to do so. In 2019/20, the Sixers defeated the Stars by 19 runs to win their second title. In the following season, the Henriques-led side defeated the Scorchers by 27 runs to win their second title in a row.

2. Ashton Turner (64.28% win percentage)

Ashton Turner is the 2nd most successful captain in the BBL. Turner has a win percentage of 64.28% in the tournament’s history. It comes as no surprise that the top two positions on this list are held by captains from the Perth Scorchers. Captaining the five-time champions with a squad full of great players can make the job of every captain easy. Turner is the current captain of the Scorchers and in 70 matches he has led them, the five-time champions have been on the winning side on 45 occasions. 

When a successful captain leaves a team there are questions asked whether the transition would be smooth or not. But in the history of the game, there have been rarely any captaincy transitions that were smoother than Voges-Turner for PS.

In 2020/21, Turner led the Scorchers to their sixth final but ended up as the runner-up. He made sure to turn the fortunes in the next two seasons as the Scorchers won back-to-back titles. In 2021/22, PS defeated the Sixers by 79 runs and stopped their hat-trick of titles. In 2022/23, the Scorchers defeated Brisbane Heat in the final by five wickets. The skipper with a knock of 53 runs in 32 balls was named the Player of the Match in the final.

1. Adam Voges (67.74% win percentage)

Adam Voges is the most successful captain in the BBL. The former Australian batter has a win percentage of 67.74%. Voges captained the five-time champions, Perth Scorchers in 31 matches and won 21 of them with a win percentage of 67.74%. Voges along with Henriques and Ashton Turner holds the joint record for winning the most BBL titles as the captain. He won two titles with unarguably the best team in the history of the tournament.

In 2014/15, the Scorchers won their first title under the leadership of Voges. The final, however, is remembered as one of the most famous last overs in the history of the game. Brett Lee bowling the final over of his career was tasked with one run to defend off the final three deliveries. Lee almost pulled off the miracle with two wickets but a run-out miss on the final ball meant that Scorchers won the title by the barest of margins.

Voges’ second title was not as hard-fought though. In 2016/17, the Scorchers under his leadership met the Sixers again in the final. However, the Scorchers won the title by nine wickets in the 16th over.