The Sydney Thunder have sacked BBL title-winning coach Paddy Upton after his side missed the finals last season.
The Thunder needed to beat the Melbourne Renegades in their last regular season match to claim fourth spot but a nine-run defeat in Canberra consigned them to sixth place.
The Thunder finished last in each of their first three BBL campaigns before Upton took over four seasons ago.
The South African led them to the BBL05 title in his second season in charge but the team crashed to the bottom of the table the season after then missed out again in BBL07.
"Paddy has been a very important part of Sydney Thunder and the history of our club," general manager Lee Germon said via statement on Wednesday.
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"He is synonymous with the very human attributes that people associate with Sydney Thunder and I would like to thank him for his significant contributions to the club.
"His work over the past four seasons puts our BBL side in a strong position moving forward as we look to develop the best young players from our region."
The Thunder defeated the Melbourne Stars by three wickets at the MCG to claim their maiden title after qualifying fourth with a 4-4 win-loss record.
Upton ends his tenure with a 13-20 overall win-loss record.
"It was a real privilege to have the opportunity to coach the Thunder as they sought to move off the bottom of the table in 2013 and to grow with the team over the next four years," he said.
"It's been an awesome journey with a team of quality individuals, class-A support staff and of course a journey made possible by so many really loyal fans out there."
