Former Australian captain Meg Lanning has taken an indefinite break from the WBBL, less than two weeks after her retirement from international cricket.
Lanning sat out the Melbourne Stars' 15-run win over Brisbane at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on Sunday due to personal reasons.
With only two games left and the Stars to miss finals, Lanning's immediate future in the sport is uncertain.
"She's taking a few days out for some personal reasons," Stars coach Jonathan Batty told the Seven Network.
"We're reassured she's all OK, which is the most important thing, but we're giving her that time and space and respecting her privacy in what she needs to do.
"We're taking it on a game-by-game basis at the moment and we'll give her all the time she needs to make that decision but she's definitely out for the next couple of games."
Lanning has taken numerous breaks from cricket during the last two years, and earlier this month announced she was ending her storied career for Australia, saying she had lost the hunger to perform at international level.
Young allrounder Annabel Sutherland captained the Stars in Lanning's absence as the Heat dropped a second-straight match.
Opener Maia Bouchier top-scored with 41 in the Stars' 5-156 batting first, while Amelia Kerr and Nicola Hancock picked up two wickets each for the Heat.
Opener Georgia Redmayne (32), who filled in as captain for the rested Jess Jonassen (hamstring soreness), started brightly but Sophie Day (3-16) and Sutherland (2-33) tightened the screws on the Heat.
Meanwhile, Hobart remain in the running to play in the finals after downing the Melbourne Renegades by eight wickets for a second straight win.
The Hurricanes' bowlers were outstanding on a traditionally good batting wicket at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on Sunday.
Heather Graham (3-12), Molly Strano (3-14) and Nicola Carey (3-24) limited the Renegades to just 9-101 after the Hurricanes won the toss and elected to field.
Only West Indies superstar Hayley Matthews got going for the Renegades, hitting 39 as wicketkeeper Josephine Dooley (16) was the only other batter to reach double figures.
The Hurricanes had little trouble during the chase, reaching the target with 14 balls to spare.
Opener Elyse Villani continued her fine tournament with an unbeaten 46, while Carey blasted 25no to cap off a handy all-round performance.
Hobart moved to fifth, one point clear of the Sydney Sixers with two games left.
The Renegades remain on the bottom of the table, with just two victories, and look set to claim the wooden spoon.
