The Sydney franchise finished the regular season in third position to book a place in a must-win Knockout playoff. The Thunder are waiting to find out who they will meet, with the Strikers and Hurricanes facing off in the fourth versus fifth place Eliminator on Friday night.

"Obviously we played both teams twice during the tournament, so we're pretty well prepared to take on either. But we'll wait and see who we've got, and plan accordingly," Oak Flats all-rounder McAndrew said.

"To be honest, I think we've played our worst cricket in the last three games. We came out with a win on Wednesday, but I think we've been a bit sloppy with the bat, the ball and the field. In particular, we've been really poor in the field the last few games, which is frustrating. You don't ever forget how to field, it's purely down to attitude. But hopefully it's just a reflection of it's been a long tournament with long games, especially being in the hotel bubble. I think everyone's starting to get a bit fatigued.

"But once the finals come around, hopefully the boys will flick a switch and that excitement and energy in the field will come back. I've got no doubt that it's a quick fix. But I think we're in a pretty good place. We've got good depth with the bat and the ball, and will be well poised for the finals."

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The Thunder have been boosted by the return of captain Usman Khawaja, who was released by Cricket Australia after the fifth Test in Hobart. Khawaja scored 77 from 51 balls in Wednesday's win over the Renegades, and McAndrew hopes that it's the start of special things to come.

"Our batting had been pretty strong as it was, but Ussie is one of the best batters in Australia. He obviously hadn't been in the Australian team for a couple of years, but I know Ussie well and I was fortunate to see some of his best work in BBL5 when he pretty much won us that tournament off his own bat," he said.

"At the end of the day, you don't really know what's going on with selections behind the scenes, but there's no-one in their right mind over the last few years that couldn't tell me that he wasn't one of the best six batters in Australia. So it didn't surprise me at all to see him take his opportunity with both hands and double up in Sydney, and I think it's just a testament to his character that he didn't get overawed by the situation.

"He's just a really high class guy, a great person and a great cricketer. He batted with a lot of class last game, there was a bit of chaos there with a batting collapse, but he looked like he was playing on a different wicket and was able to anchor the innings and get us up to a good total. He's a huge inclusion for us going into the finals."

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McAndrew is enjoying his seventh season wearing the lime green in the BBL.

The 28-year-old has picked up 12 wickets this campaign, while he has also chipped in with some handy runs in the lower order. However, McAndrew believes he has room for improvement.

"I think my form's been a little up and down, which is just T20 cricket as a bowler. It's a batsman's game and no-one really turns up to see a bowler bowl dot balls, they want to see balls flying into the crowd," he said.

"I try not to base my reflection on my game on my what figures look like. Instead, I look back at the 24 balls I bowled and whether I executed my plans, and try judge myself accordingly because at the end of the day, you can bowl the perfect yorker and still get ramped for four.

"I feel like I'm in a pretty good space. 'Greeny' (Chris Green) had faith in me to bowl some important overs in the Power Surge, and I think Ussie has the same trust in me. I'm looking forward to trying to make an impact for the boys in the finals."

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