Veteran Melbourne Stars opener Luke Wright trained on Monday in a bid to prove he is ready to return from a bruised lung in Tuesday night's match against the Sydney Sixers at the MCG.
A game which less than four days ago shaped as a meeting between two sides desperate to claim their first wins of the Big Bash League season changed over the weekend after both the Stars and Sixers recorded breakthrough victories in their respective derbies.
Led by 74 from Kevin Pietersen and impressive spells from fast bowlers Jackson Coleman and Daniel Worrall, the Stars hurt the finals chances of the Melbourne Renegades with a 23-run win at Etihad Stadium on Friday night. The following night the Sixers played the role of spoilers, winning in a last-ball thriller against Sydney Thunder at the SCG.
The Sixers are one spot ahead of the Stars in seventh on the BBL ladder, with the loser of the match to be on the bottom. The Stars remain a tiny mathematical chance to make the finals.
Both teams named unchanged squads for the match, meaning paceman Scott Boland and veteran spinner Michael Beer remain on the outer for the Stars. Boland has fallen behind Worrall and Coleman in the pecking order, while young spinners Daniel Fallins and Liam Bowe have been favoured ahead of Beer.
Englishman Wright, who had been struggling for runs early in the season, has missed the Stars' past two games after slipping in his Adelaide hotel bathroom before the Stars' defeat at the hands of the Adelaide Strikers. Scans subsequently revealed a bruised lung, and he missed the derby as well, although he has been named in the squad to face the Sixers.
The inclusion of Wright would likely lead to a Stars reshuffle after dumped international batsman Peter Handscomb made 41 opening with Ben Dunk against the Renegades. Dunk - who was the top BBL run scorer last summer while playing for Adelaide - has had a poor first season with the Stars, reaching double figures only once.
Weather is unlikely to intervene on Tuesday night, with fine conditions forecast.
