She had a front row seat on the Ellyse Perry express during the Big Bash and while she loved it then, Erin Burns laughs she is "slightly terrified" about being on the other side of the tracks.
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The ACT Meteors will fight for a place in a drought-breaking WNCL final when they confront the NSW Breakers dynasty at Karen Rolton Oval on Saturday.
The Meteors are locked in a three-way fight for a spot in the final alongside NSW and Tasmania, which means they will likely need to beat the Breakers and back it up against lowly South Australia on Sunday to book their ticket to the big show.
Burns relished being on Perry's side as the drawcard shattered WBBL records for the Sydney Sixers like three young tyros from Newcastle did when Silverchair released Frogstomp.
But now she is faced with the unenviable task of shutting the all-rounder down.
"Pez is in some pretty incredible form and the Twenty20 format has not traditionally been her expertise, so if she’s doing that well in Twenty20, I’m slightly terrified about how she is going to go in 50 overs," Burns said.
"All of us girls have some really good experience to get some good overs in both batting and bowling. From the Melbourne Renegades, Maitlan Brown played exceptionally well, she bowled really well the whole tournament.
"Nic Hancock had a really good season, Ozzy [Erin Osborne] is always really consistent. We can take some confidence from each individual’s Big Bash seasons and just do what we do, not try to get too ahead of ourselves and not be daunted by big names.
"That’s something our group is really good at, trying to put that aside and playing the game as it comes, rather than getting too ahead of ourselves."
Burns was on a 6am flight out of Sydney on Friday, en route for Adelaide where the Meteors will be greeted by 36-degree heat.
Playing back-to-back 50-over matches in the sweltering South Australian sun is far from ideal, and Burns laughs there is one easy way to avoid sunburn and sunstroke - knock them over early.
"That sounds like a bloody good plan to be honest," Burns laughed.
NSW suffered a shock opening-round loss and slumped to a second defeat when a host of star players were hunting international Twenty20 glory in the Caribbean.
But the competition heavyweights - who have won 19 titles in 22 seasons - bulldozed their way into the top two with a six-wicket win over South Australia on Friday.
Perry's first-ball duck was a welcome reminder that she is human, but she isn't the only standout in the superstar-laden Breakers XI that will have Meteors skipper Osborne in overdrive.
"They had a bit of a rough start to the season with so many of their players out of the World Cup. They’re not in the top two but usually they’d be on top at this point of the competition," Burns said.
"They’re obviously a quality outfit with some really incredible players in there, and players that are in pretty bloody good form.
"If all our girls are on song then we’re definitely up for it. Anything can happen on the day, hopefully we can get a win against them and that will secure our finals spot."
WNCL
Saturday: ACT Meteors v NSW Breakers at Karen Rolton Oval, 10.30am (AEDT).
Sunday: ACT Meteors v South Australia Scorpions at Karen Rolton Oval, 10.30am (AEDT).
