Strikers undecided about opting for replacement with Stafanie Taylor unavailable for the start of WBBL06

cricket.com.au reported. Taylor arrived Down Under on October 12 and the protocols called for a two-week mandatory quarantine.

Strikers face Hobart Hurricanes for their first match on Sunday (October 25) and then the Sydney Sixers on the following day, when Taylor is set to be out of quarantine and join the squad. But given that she has not been training during quarantine, it could be tough for her to come back to action right away.

Taylor was part of the Caribbean squad that played a five-T20I series against England late September. She wasn't in form with the bat, mustering only 78 runs and picked up six wickets with her off-spin.

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However, as a cover to any of the team, in case a player becomes unavailable because of injuries or having to leave the bubble, a total of 20 players – four from New Zealand and 16 local players – are living and training in the WBBL Village in Sydney but aren’t contracted to one team. This means that in case of absolute necessities, teams could pick one of them to play for them.

Strikers, too, have an option to choose from the tool since Taylor is unavailable but they're reportedly undecided whether to use one of the four Kiwis from Katie Perkins, Lauren Down, Rosemary Mair or Holly Huddleston. Perkins is training with the Strikers already, as per the report. The Suzie Bates-led team can use an overseas player since Taylor, an overseas player herself, is unavailable.

Emily Smith and Anna Lanning are among those in the pool, with the latter training with the Stars. Teams can opt for the New Zealand players, provided their overseas player(s) becomes unavailable. Only Sixers can opt for the Kiwis even if one of their marquee players gets injured since they have only two overseas players in Dane van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp.