'Hardest year yet': One word reigning champs can't avoid ahead of ...

As the Adelaide Strikers players signed autographs and posed for selfies with fans at Rundle Mall on Saturday afternoon, one word kept popping up during interviews with local broadcasters.

Three-peat.

The reigning champions couldn’t avoid.

“You’d be like the tenth person to ask me that today,” laughed Strikers bowler Megan Schutt while speaking to Fox Cricket at the WBBL Launch in Adelaide.

Schutt was the first member of the Strikers squad to utter the phrase, doing so on national television moments after last year’s WBBL final against the Brisbane Heat, a thrilling three-run victory in front of 12,379 spectators at Adelaide Oval.

“I mean, I was the first one to say it, so I’ll happily cop that,” she continued, rolling her eyes with a smile.

Watch every game of the WBBL live and ad-break free during play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer >

No Big Bash franchise, men’s or women’s, has lifted the trophy in three consecutive summers; the Sydney Sixers’ WBBL team went back-to-back, as did the Brisbane Heat, but neither could complete a hat-trick of titles.

Over the coming five weeks, the Strikers have a chance to cement their status as an undisputed Big Bash dynasty, having won the coveted trophy in 2022 and 2023.

“I don’t see why we can’t do it,” said Schutt, the club’s leading WBBL wicket-taker.

“We’ve got an amazing squad, the same key domestic core that we’ve had for a very long time.

“But every (club) on paper this year looks absolutely incredible, so it’s going to be the hardest year yet.”

Megan Schutt of the Adelaide Strikers. Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

This summer’s WBBL, the tenth edition of the tournament, has been reduced to a 40-match regular season to align with the men’s competition. The shortened format means no team can afford to stumble off the blocks, with the Strikers getting their campaign underway this weekend with a mouth-watering rematch against the Heat at Adelaide Oval.

“You cannot get too ahead of yourself in T20 cricket, as we saw in the World Cup,” Schutt continued, referencing the recent ICC tournament in the United Arab Emirates where defending champions Australia were knocked out in the semi-finals by South Africa.

“It’s a very humbling game, and things can turn around very quickly, whether that’s for good or bad.

“Only ten games obviously means each match is even more crucial than the last.”

Strikers opener Katie Mack, the club’s leading run-scorer last summer with 452 at 30.13, also acknowledged how fickle the T20 format can be.

“(The three-peat) is definitely talked about, but it’s quite lighthearted,” Mack told Fox Cricket.

“Obviously with T20s, it can fluctuate a lot.

“We’ve already made a huge achievement by getting two in a row, so we’re trying not to take away from that by aiming for something different.

“It would be quite historic, but it’s not probably on the forefront of our minds right now.

“You can have the best team on paper, but then for the other team just one person can perform and win the game.

“It’s very hard to be a reliable and consistent team in T20s.”

Strikers players Katie Mack and Megan Schutt pose with fans. Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty Images for Cricket AustraliaSource: Getty Images

Since joining the Strikers in 2019, Mack has only cleared the boundary rope twice in Big Bash cricket, maintaining a strike rate of 112.79 during her tenure. The 31-year-old hopes to become a more damaging threat during the Powerplay overs this summer.

“My role might change a little bit this year … I’ve just been working on trying to make sure that I’m a bit more aggressive in the Powerplay,” Mack said.

“I have such a strong batting line-up coming behind me, so it’s just making sure that I’m having the biggest impact while in there early when there’s only two fielders out.

“If we lose a couple of wickets, it’s my role to change back to that anchor role, but I’m pretty used to that, so it’s probably more just trying to make sure I’m working on something that I’m not as strong at.

“It is a little bit exciting to think that I might hit a few sixes and take on some of the bowlers.”

The Strikers have three Australian superstars in their roster – captain Tahlia McGrath, bowler Darcie Brown and Schutt – while the squad’s been bolstered following the WBBL overseas player draft.

South African opener Laura Wolvaardt returns for her fifth season with the Strikers, while Indian superstar Smriti Mandhana will join the Adelaide-based franchise for the second half of the tournament. The club also snapped up Irish all-rounder Orla Prendergast, one of the surprise signings from last month’s Draft.

The Strikers will face the Heat at Adelaide Oval on Sunday at 1.40pm AEDT.