"How am I supposed to get her out in club cricket if it's not happening at Big Bash?"

Mack had scored 486 runs - second only to Beth Mooney - at an average of 68 and a strike rate of 118 to propel the Adelaide Strikers into Thursday night's do-or-die challenger with a place in the WBBL final on the line.

The devastating Adelaide and ACT opener has posted unbeaten half-centuries in five or her past seven knocks with a high score of 89 not out. If WBBL attacks can't crack the riddle, Kershaw isn't so excited for what comes next.

"I'm looking forward to her coming back and playing for ACT, I'm not really looking forward to having to play against her in club cricket this year," Queanbeyan-Eastlake's Kershaw said.

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Mack will link up with Weston Creek Molonglo/Tuggeranong in a new era for Cricket ACT's women's competition, with all eight local premier clubs locked in for the revamped first grade season beginning on Sunday.

Clubs will join forces in a four-team competition boasting Weston Creek/Tuggeranong, Eastlake/Queanbeyan, Ginninderra/North-Canberra Gungahlin and Western District/ANU.

The six-round one-day competition begins on Sunday, with a six-round Twenty20 tournament to begin on January 16.

The ACT Meteors will bolster the ranks of the local competition, with contracted players split across the four teams.

One naturally wonders who will be the team to beat as Canberra's top female cricketers enter the unknown, and Weston Creek Molonglo/Tuggeranong's Kelly Rowlings "would like to say us".

"We've obviously got Katie Mack coming back and she is scoring runs for fun down in the WBBL," Rowlings grinned.

"Ange Reakes is our captain and Erin Osborne as well, so we've got a wealth of experience in our Meteors.

"If we get on, I'm expecting a fierce competition. Everyone doesn't really know what to expect but I know we're all very competitive people and we'll do our best to make the most of it."

The chance to keep Meteors players in Canberra, rather than travelling to Sydney to play premier cricket, was a driving force behind the competition.

Now Cricket ACT bosses hope it can inspire the next generation of emerging talent and provide a clear pathway to the elite level for players in Canberra.

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