Stars should expect a 'hostile' WACA Ground: Devine

Sophie Devine has urged her teammates and the Perth Scorchers fanbase to turn the WACA Ground into a hostile fortress when they take on the Melbourne Stars in Tuesday's WBBL|11 Knockout final.

The Scorchers surged up the table through the second half of WBBL|11, leapfrogging the Stars to claim the No.3 spot after the Melbourne club faltered in their final three matches.

It hands Devine's team the all-important home ground advantage and given the winner advances to the Challenger final in Sydney on Thursday, one fewer cross-country trip is another major boost.

Perth have won three of their last four matches and will go into the game with momentum on their side, while the Stars' last trip to the WACA Ground was in October last year.

"It would have been nice to finish second, but the Sixers unfortunately pulled something out of the bag ... we're so excited to be able to host a final here at the WACA, it's something that we love doing," Devine said on Sunday.

"We've been trending in the right direction the last couple of weeks, so big game against the Stars for us.

"I think the real positive that we can take out of it is that we're starting to build momentum and that we get to play at home, and these are conditions that we know really well.

"They haven't played over here this year, so we'll hopefully really look to exploit that."

The Scorchers have enjoyed some of the strongest consistent crowds throughout WBBL|11 and despite the tricky weekday start time of 4.45pm, Devine called on their fans to turn out in droves.

"The other night, having over 3000 people come into the gates, it certainly makes a huge difference for us as players," she continued.

"We love the noise, we love the support.

"We certainly want to bring a bit of hostility as well towards those Melbourne Stars coming across, so I certainly encourage anyone and everyone to come through the gates."

Rattling WBBL|11 leading run scorer Meg Lanning – who scored 90no against the Scorchers earlier this season – will be the No.1 job for the Scorchers new-ball attack, led by Chloe Ainsworth and Devine, but the New Zealander was conscious of the other threats in the Stars' line-up.

"Well, getting Meg out early is usually a pretty good idea," Devine joked.

"She's obviously scored a few runs this season, but they've got some real talent.

"I think Annabel Sutherland's been leading that side extremely well, Rhys McKenna as well ... a couple of the overseas players too, who are going to be a real threat."

While the Scorchers have been surging, the opposite can be said for the Stars who were at one point battling it out with the Hurricanes for top position on the table, but stumbled into the finals after losing their last three games.

Melbourne got the better of the Scorchers by 16 runs in a rain-affected encounter in Adelaide in their sole meeting early on in the WBBL|11 regular season.

Speaking following his team's defeat to the Sydney Thunder on Saturday, Stars coach Andy Christie said he was encouraging his side to look at finals as a fresh start.

This is just the second time the Stars, who were wooden spooners last season, have made the WBBL knockouts, and their first appearance since 2020.

"It's an interesting one – I think when you look at it and go, 'Okay, what's our objective at the start of the season?' It's to make finals," Christie said.

"And I think we keep leaning into the positive side of things, rather than looking at the three losses and going, 'Oh, we're in form moving into the finals'.

"I think everyone sees the final series as it's everyone's on scratch, and you go again, because some funny things can happen in a final."

One of the biggest challenges for the Stars' attack will be finding a way to stop Scorchers star Beth Mooney, who has struck 395 runs this season.

Making life tougher will be the absence of South Africa allrounder Marizanne Kapp, who returned home on international duties at the start of the month.

The Stars drafted in England batter Maia Bouchier to bolster their batting unit, while Kapp's overs are falling to less-experienced local quicks Rhys McKenna and Georgia Prestwidge – then there's also Kapp's unique quality as a big-game player, and experience at the WACA Ground having played for the Scorchers.

"She's a world-class player, isn't she, but I generally and genuinely believe the group have got the players there to be able to be able to cover her batting and her bowling, and it just depends how we line up," Christie said.

"I don't see it as a major issue moving forward.

"I always tend to look at (losses), and the squad is doing a great job at looking at them as evidence to say, 'Hey, how do we how do we prepare better next time for our next opportunity?'

"And yes, they haven't gone our way, but they've given us some feedback as to what are the things we need to do better next time around."

WBBL|11 finals schedule

The Knockout: Perth Scorchers v Melbourne Stars, WACA Ground (Tuesday, December 9, 7.45pm AEDT)

The Challenger: Sydney Sixers v winner of The Knockout, North Sydney Oval (Thursday, December 11, 7.15pm AEDT)

The Final: Hobart Hurricanes v winner of The Challenger, Ninja Stadium (Saturday, December 13, 7.15pm AEDT)