LISA STHALEKAR: Tahlia McGrath out to lead Strikers to WBBL three-peat as Sixers sweat Alyssa Healy return

Please Sir, I want some more?

More?!! Exclaimed the astonished master to Oliver Twist in the famous Charles Dickson book.

Unlike young Oliver, you don’t have to fear, as more cricket is here. The Women’s Big Bash League begins on Sunday at Adelaide Oval with the reigning champions, Adelaide Strikers, taking on the Brisbane Heat in a repeat of last year’s final.

The Strikers hopefully begin their campaign in front of a packed crowd as they set their sights on achieving something that has never occurred before - winning three consecutive titles.

The Strikers have the ingredients to get it done again this season given that they have kept their core group of players.

Adelaide skipper Tahlia McGrath will be fired up to achieve early success after captaining Australia during their heartbreaking T20 World Cup semifinal loss to South Africa with Alyssa Healy sidelined through injury.

Stylish left-hander Smriti Mandhana and equally stylish right-hander Laura Wolvaardt round out the Strikers top order firepower.

The leader of the bowling attack, Megan Schutt, the T20 World Cup leading wicket-taker and Team of the Tournament member, will have a huge impact on their chances.

Other teams that will challenge the Strikers are the Hobart Hurricanes who are coming off a win in the newly created T20 Spring Challenge – brought in as a preseason fixture with the WBBL reduced from 14 games per team to 10 games this summer.

The move is a sign of the times as the competition tries to remain relevant with the growing demands of the international cricket calendar.

All eyes will be on the Sydney Sixers to see if Healy will be fit to take part at some stage during the tournament.

It has been radio silence since the return of the Australian team from United Arab Emirates. If Healy was to return it would make the Sixers real contenders.

With the inclusion of Melie Kerr, another World Cup Team of the Tournament member, Sydney is a dangerous side.

Add Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner, who are also hurting from Australia’s shock World Cup, exit will have real purpose as the Sixers strive to replicate their early dominance in the competition’s history.

Finally, a side that has probably underperformed in recent times, the Melbourne Stars could turn their fortunes around.

Meg Lanning has been playing domestic cricket over the last month and has already produced an unbeaten 92 off 57 deliveries for Victoria..

Annabel Sutherland had an exceptional T20 World Cup with the ball, picking up nine wickets at an average of 10.22. I expect her to have more of a role with the bat in hand, so look out bowlers.

To round out the side, the Stars’ international players are some of the best all-rounders in the game, Marizanne Kapp and Deepti Sharma.

Both are highly competitive and when you couple them with the bright young talents of Tess Flintoff and Sophie Day they will be eyeing off a finals spot.

I can hardly believe that this year marks the 10th year of the WBBL. There was plenty of excitement around the initial competition, the first of its kind for women’s cricket.

Women finally were given an opportunity to play in franchise cricket with each franchise showcasing the best talent in the world on Australian soil.

This year’s WBBL looks to take the competition to the next level.

After the highs reached by the New Zealand team only a few days ago, winning their first ever ICC event with their T20 World Cup triumph, we are going to have to wait a week or so to see the likes of Sophie Devine, Kerr and Suzie Bates as they are in India for three ODIs.

While the World Cup was nightmare finish for the Aussie it was dream result for the Kiwis and deservedly so.

Sure, it would have been great for the Australian team to win another title, making it four in a row, but what played out was the perfect ending to three wonderful servants of the game, Devine, Bates and Lea Tahuhu.

Devine who lost two T20 World Cup finals (2009 and 2010) and Bates just the one (2010), have been toiling away to ensuring that they inspire the next generation of cricketers back home in New Zealand.

Sometimes the nice women can finish first and I would hazard a guess that there wouldn’t have been a supporter of the game that wasn’t happy for New Zealand.

Let’s hope NZ Cricket don’t squander this opportunity to grow the game off the back of this team’s success.

Finally, with the second round of Sheffield Shield nearly complete and with no real standouts making a case for the Test team, there are still plenty of unanswered questions.

To throw fuel on the fire, David Warner has come out and stated, “if they (Australian cricket team) really needed myself for this series (against India), I’m more than happy to play the next Shield game and go out there and play.”

What baffles me is that this guy had his swansong last summer to say farewell and finish on his terms.

One could argue that because of that allowance, the team is in this situation as selectors didn’t use those Tests wisely to blood the next opener.

Therefore, Warner suggesting to answer the mayday call if it was to come, will only kick the issue down the road again. With England coming out next summer, enough is enough.

It’s time to pick the best opener in Shield cricket. Cameron Bancroft has scored a mountain of runs in previous seasons, however four poor scores this season isn’t the start he was looking for.

Therefore at this stage I would go with Marcus Harris, who has scored a hundred so far this season and ran drinks for a huge chunk of Test matches since the last one he played last for his country in January 2022.