Sophie Devine is set to return for the Perth Scorchers while the Sydney Sixers are hopeful Ashleigh Gardner will play as five teams battle it out for the three remaining spots in the Rebel WBBL semi-finals.
Just eight regular season matches remain, to be played across Saturday and Sunday at Drummoyne Oval and North Sydney Oval.
The in-form Melbourne Stars have cemented top spot on the ladder and cannot be dislodged, but the other three spots remain up for grabs, with just two points (one win) separating the Brisbane Heat, who sit in second on 14 points, and the Perth Scorchers, Sydney Thunder and Sydney Sixers, all on 12.
If the Scorchers, Thunder and Sixers all win both matches – a scenario that is possible given their match ups – net run rate will be critical.
Adelaide Strikers meanwhile sit on 11 points and with games to come against the Thunder and Scorchers, two wins would secure their finals berth.
Devine is poised to return to lead the Perth Scorchers after missing two games with a lower back complaint.
The Scorchers will have their full quota of frontline internationals after England star Amy Jones made a comeback from a quad injury on Wednesday, in a boost ahead of must-win matches against the Hobart Hurricanes and Adelaide Strikers.
The Sixers snapped a five-game losing streak on Wednesday night and hopeful of regaining the services of Australia allrounder Gardner, who missed their last two games due to a concussion suffered while fielding against the Adelaide Strikers last weekend.
A call will be made on Gardner on Saturday, while in other positive news for the Sixers, young pace bowler Hayley Silver-Holmes has returned from a foot injury.
"Ash is one of the most dynamic batters in the competition, I think she’s bowled really well this season as well and she’s great in the field, so she adds a lot," Sixers captain Ellyse Perry said of Gardner.
"It’d be lovely to have her, but I think when we are playing our best cricket, regardless of who is on the park we are capable of performing and winning matches."
Sydney Thunder and Brisbane Heat have named unchanged squads for their own must-win matches, while the Adelaide Strikers have been forced into one change, after international replacement player Katie Perkins returned to New Zealand this week.
Perkins had been filling the vacancy left after compatriot Suzie Bates suffered a tournament-ending shoulder injury and has been replaced in the Strikers’ squad by Annie O’Neil.
The Melbourne Stars have a five-point lead at the top of the ladder and cannot be dislodged, but it is safe to say the first-time finalists will be eager to have their say on the fate of both the Heat and Sixers, who need to beat the ladder-leaders to give themselves the best possible chance of advancing.
The same can be said for the Renegades and Hurricanes. Both teams still have an extremely remote mathematical possibility of making the top four, but more realistically, they will want to upset a few finals hopefuls and end their own campaigns on a positive note.
Catch the North Sydney Oval action on 7Cricket, Foxtel, or live streamed via Kayo and the CA Live app. All Drummoyne Oval matches will be streamed live on the CA Live app, WBBL Facebook Page and Kayo. There will also be coverage on ABC radio.
FIXTURES
Stars v Heat | Saturday 9.30am AEDT | Drummoyne Oval | cricket.com.au live stream
Strikers v Thunder | Saturday 2.30pm AEDT | Drummoyne Oval | cricket.com.au live stream
Hurricanes v Scorchers | Saturday 3.40pm AEDT | North Sydney Oval | Seven, Kayo, Fox Cricket
Sixers v Renegades| Saturday 7.05pm AEDT | North Sydney Oval | Seven, Kayo, Fox Cricket
Thunder v Hurricanes | Sunday 9.30am AEDT | Drummoyne Oval | cricket.com.au live stream
Scorchers v Strikers | Sunday 10.20am AEDT | North Sydney Oval | Seven, Kayo, Fox Cricket
Stars v Sixers | Sunday 1.45pm AEDT | North Sydney Oval | Seven, Kayo, Fox Cricket
Renegades v Heat | Sunday 2.30pm AEDT | Drummoyne Oval | cricket.com.au live stream
SQUADS
Adelaide Strikers: Megan Schutt (c), Darcie Brown, Sarah Coyte, Katie Mack, Tahlia McGrath, Tegan McPharlin, Annie O’Neil, Bridget Patterson, Madeline Penna, Alex Price, Stafanie Taylor (WI), Amanda-Jade Wellington, Laura Wolvaardt (SA)
Brisbane Heat: Jess Jonassen (c), Maddy Green (NZ), Nicola Hancock, Grace Harris, Amelia Kerr (NZ), Nadine de Klerk (SA), Delissa Kimmince, Laura Kimmince, Charli Knott, Georgia Prestwidge, Georgia Redmayne, Courtney Sippel, Georgia Voll
Hobart Hurricanes: Corinne Hall (c), Nell Bryson Smith, Nicola Carey, Brooke Hepburn, Erica Kershaw, Hayley Matthews (WI), Sasha Moloney, Rachel Priest (wk)(NZ), Chloe Rafferty, Amy Smith, Naomi Stalenberg, Emma Thompson, Chloe Tryon (SA), Belinda Vakarewa
Melbourne Renegades: Amy Satterthwaite (c) (NZ), Makinley Blows, Rebecca Carter, Josie Dooley, Erin Fazackerley, Ella Hayward, Lizelle Lee (SA), Carly Leeson, Sophie Molineux, Courtney Neale, Molly Strano, Lea Tahuhu, Courtney Webb, Amy Yates
Perth Scorchers: Sophie Devine (c)(NZ), Jemma Barsby, Samantha Betts, Nicole Bolton, Mathilda Carmichael, Piepa Cleary, Sarah Glenn (Eng), Heather Graham, Amy Jones (Eng), Emma King, Beth Mooney, Taneale Peschel, Chloe Piparo
Sydney Sixers: Ellyse Perry (c), Sarah Aley, Erin Burns, Stella Campbell, Lauren Cheatle, Maddy Darke, Ashleigh Gardner, Lisa Griffith, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jodie Hicks, Emma Hughes, Marizanne Kapp (SA), Angela Reakes, Hayley Silver-Holmes, Dane Van Niekerk (SA)
Sydney Thunder: Rachael Haynes (c), Samantha Arnold, Sam Bates, Tammy Beaumont (Eng), Hannah Darlington, Saskia Horley, Shabnim Ismail (SA), Sammy-Jo Johnson, Heather Knight (Eng), Anika Learoyd, Phoebe Litchfield, Kate Peterson, Lauren Smith, Rachel Trenaman, Talia Wilson
Melbourne Stars: Meg Lanning (c), Katherine Brunt (Eng), Lucy Cripps, Sophie Day, Bhavi Devchand, Mignon Du Preez (SA), Holly Ferling, Tess Flintoff, Nicole Faltum, Alana King, Anna Lanning, Erin Osborne, Nat Sciver, Annabel Sutherland, Elyse Villani
