Batting collapses have cost Sydney Thunder their past two matches but Friday night's derby against arch rivals the Sixers looms as a turning point in a close WBBL competition.
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With six games remaining in the season, Thunder sit one point behind the Sixers and ladder-leading Brisbane Heat as they prepare to face the two biggest tests of the season at Drummoyne Oval over consecutive nights.
Master blasters Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy have been in hot form and Thunder skipper Rachael Haynes is wary of the power of her Australian teammates, who could shoot the Sixers to the top of the ladder on Friday night, with a game in hand.
"They've got a very dangerous top order and we saw that first hand in the opening round of the WBBL; they can be quite attacking and really take the game away from you," she said.
"Conversely though, I think our power plays with the ball have been really good recently so we'll be looking to try and bring that to life."
After losing to Sixers by 49 runs in the opening round, Thunder went on a four-match winning streak before narrowly losing their past two games against Perth.
The top four currently sit on 10 points and it will be a battle to secure a semi-finals spot over the next few weeks.
Haynes has struggled with the bat this WBBL season with a top score of 36 against the Melbourne Renegades, and she's coming off a duck against the Scorchers on Wednesday.
She missed the first match against the Scorchers with a foot infection after being bitten by her cat.
"I would be nice to turn it around. It's been pretty underwhelming so far for me this season so I'm pretty keen to atone from that and go out there and put some match-winning performances together," she said.
"I think that's probably the thing that's stood out for us last game was our batting group just didn't really come together when it really needed to.
"I think this format is unforgiving at times, you've got to continue to have good intent and try and move the game forward and I feel like with every opportunity that I've tried to do that I've gotten out."
Thunder will then face Brisbane Heat at Drummoyne Oval on Saturday night.
Australian Associated Press