It could be a case of third time lucky for Sydney Sixers as the injury-riddled club send another SOS to Cricket Australia, asking for Steve Smith to return in Friday night's BBL final against the Perth Scorchers.
The Sixers attempted to sign former skipper Smith for the entire finals series, only for CA to block the move after rival state associations raised objections.
The men in magenta tried again prior to Wednesday night's Challenger final because Josh Philippe contracted COVID-19 but failed, having to send out assistant coach Jay Lenton instead.
And they have asked the question yet again after a dramatic final-ball win over Adelaide at the SCG, where young gun Hayden Kerr finished 98 not out.
Steve O'Keefe (calf), Jordan Silk (hamstring) and captain Moises Henriques (calf) suffered fresh injuries on Wednesday night, while Daniel Hughes (ankle) failed a pre-match fitness test.
Philippe will miss the title-deciding clash with the Scorchers at Marvel Stadium.
Brothers Jack and Mickey Edwards will be on the final night of their isolation period, meaning they will also remain unavailable unless the Victoria government provide an exemption.
The issue is set to be discussed by powerbrokers on Thursday, when the depleted Sixers head south for their fifth title-deciding showdown with Perth.
"Shout out to anyone* in Melbourne that wants a game of cricket tomorrow night. My team is struggling to get 11 covid free, fit players on the park," Dan Christian posted on Twitter.
"Warm up starts at 6.30pm at Marvel Stadium. Free beer afterwards, potentially out of a large cup. DM if keen ... *no test cricketers."
A glut of enforced omissions could potentially result in a CA rethink regarding Smith, who was expecting to be part of a limited-overs series against New Zealand that was ultimately postponed.
Henriques, speaking to Fox Sports on Wednesday night, remained unsure whether he will be fit to face the Scorchers.
"I have no idea. It's going to have to be a bloody bad calf for me not to play," Henriques said.
"Flight tomorrow won't be amazing. We'll see what happens.
"I'll just hobble around like an old bloke. I've been doing that all year anyway."
Henriques, who is among several Sixers to have publicly bemoaned Smith's absence, hit out at BBL administrators while defending his club's decision to retire Silk.
Adelaide captain Peter Siddle initially raised objections at the ploy, which ensured the Sixers had a fit body at the non-striker's end for the final ball of the match, but later told Fox it was "not actually a big issue .. you can retire blokes".
"We needed that person to run," Henriques said.
"Clearly within the rules of the game.
"Unfortunately we had a guy go down with a hamstring, one of the fittest guys in the league.
"Probably something to do with our schedule and the five flights in eight days, so many back-to-back games.
"We're trying to back up with guys carrying little injuries and he normally bats five. So the fact he's gone in at eight, I think we're sacrificing enough as is."
