Sangha in line for shock BBL return after speedy recovery

Sydney Thunder have received a huge boost ahead of their decisive final match of the regular season with captain Jason Sangha completing a remarkable recovery from a broken collarbone.

Sangha has been named in the Thunder's 16-player squad for their clash against the Stars on Wednesday night just five weeks after suffering the injury while diving to stop a ball during the club's last trip to Melbourne to play the Renegades on December 18.

The 23-year-old made his playing return on Saturday for his Premier club Randwick-Petersham, scoring four from four balls opening the batting in a two-day fixture.

He also took a catch but did not bowl, indicating that while he can bat, he may still be limited in other aspects.

Sangha needed surgery after landing heavily on his left shoulder during the Thunder's final-over loss to the Renegades, with scans later confirming had fractured his left clavicle in the incident.

If selected in the final XI on Wednesday, it is assumed Sangha would resume captaincy duties after being named the Thunder's new skipper prior to the start of the season, although the club could not confirm this on Tuesday.

The Thunder currently sit fifth, level on 12 points with the fourth-placed Renegades and one point behind Brisbane Heat in third.

If both those sides win their final matches of the home-and-away season (the Renegades against the Strikers on Tuesday night, and the Heat against the Hurricanes on Wednesday afternoon), the Thunder will have secured finals qualification before their match against the Stars.

But if either of those teams lose, the Thunder will need a win to make the KFC BBL|12 finals.

"It's been a bit of a roller coaster season. Some our performances have been really good at times, and really poor at times," acting captain Chris Green said.

"(We've) probably lacked a bit of consistency which we've had in previous years.

"We like a bit of underdog status. When the chips are down a lot of players tend to stand up, and that's certainly going to be the message, and the hope, for Wednesday as well."

David Warner will play against the Stars in his first match at the MCG since his Test double-century this summer, and he will be available for either or both of the Eliminator and Knockout finals (should the Thunder qualify) before jetting out to India with Australia’s Test squad.

The last time the Thunder played the Stars was the opening match of KFC BBL|12 in Canberra when Stars wicketkeeper Joe Clarke conceded a bye on the final ball of the match to allow the Thunder to claim a thrilling one-wicket victory.

"The last game of the tournament has come around very quickly, and the nice thing is we're in a position where we control our own destiny; if we win, we're definitely in and can get as high as third," Green said.

"Results have gone our way prior to this game … if we can get into that finals and play our brand of our cricket, we can be a dangerous side to play against."

The Stars on the other hand were the first team eliminated from contention in KFC BBL|12, which is their third-straight season without a finals appearance after losing the decider to the Sixers in BBL|09.

Wednesday night will be David Hussey's final match involved with the club after 48 as a player and 47 as a coach, as he prepares to take up the Head of Male Cricket role at Cricket Victoria full-time.

Thunder squad v Stars: Ben Cutting, Joel Davies, Oliver Davies, Brendan Doggett, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green (c), Baxter Holt, Nathan McAndrew, Blake Nikitaras, Ross Pawson, Usman Qadir (Pakistan), Alex Ross, Daniel Sams, Gurinder Sandhu, Jason Sangha, David Warner, Sam Whiteman

Stars squad vs Thunder: Adam Zampa (c), Hilton Cartwright, Joe Clarke (England), Brody Couch, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Liam Hatcher, Clint Hinchliffe, Campbell Kellaway, Nick Larkin, Tom O'Connell, Tom Rogers, James Seymour, Marcus Stoinis, Beau Webster, Luke Wood (England)