Rachael Haynes has sounded an ominous warning to rivals of the table-topping Sydney Thunder, declaring she's finally arrived in the women's Big Bash League.
Admittedly drained after Australia's women's World Twenty20 win in the Caribbean last month, Haynes scored her first half-century of this season's WBBL against Hobart on Christmas Eve.
The Australian vice-captain even went to the extent of resting for two matches earlier this month, after there was just a three-day gap between the national side arriving home from the Caribbean and opening weekend of the WBBL.
But with the Thunder sitting atop the ladder at the halfway mark, Haynes said she was now ready to fire headed into the business end of the tournament.
"It's been a bit of a slow start to the season for me, but I've finally arrived at WBBL so that's nice," Haynes told AAP.
"I have been pretty fatigued to be honest. But I was very fortunate the club gave me a week off when the girls went down to Hobart. So that really helped me and I really needed it.
"I've come back really fresh and ready to attack the back end of the season. If we play finals there is still something like eight games to go.
"I had that in the back of my mind too when I spoke to the coaching staff. Hopefully I can pay them back and finish off really strong."
Haynes was the Thunder's most prolific bat last season, piling on 426 runs at a strike-rate of above 120 en route to the tournament's semi-finals.
Their runs have been more spread this year, with five players having notched up half-centuries as they've started the season with six wins from seven games.
They head to Perth for back-to-back matches against the Scorchers this week, with Sydney Sixers and Brisbane Heat in pursuit.
