Coach Craig Cumming confirmed White Ferns all-rounder Hayley Jensen will return to the lineup following a brief break to manage her workload after knee surgery.
The 31-year-old all-rounder skipped the Sparks’ back-to-back wins over Northern Districts in Dunedin earlier this month.
But she will join the likes of opening batter Suzie Bates and spinner Eden Carson in a powerful Sparks lineup.
There is a lot at stake.
It is a straight final, so only the top two sides will progress.
The Wellington Blaze (27 points) have more or less locked in a spot in the final.
They play bottom-placed Canterbury (6) in their final round-robin games, while Northern Districts (16) and Central Districts (12) will tussle for the minor placings.
Auckland (24) are one win away from securing a berth in the final, while the Sparks (22 points) will probably need to win both games.
Cumming is a process-focused coach and awfully difficult to draw into a conversation about the various scenarios.
But his side can take confidence from their back-to-back wins against Northern a couple of weeks ago.
Cumming did suggest he would like to see an elimination final in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield as there is in the Ford Trophy.
"The competition is deserving of that. You’ve got more teams now that are far more competitive, so I think it is something that needs to be looked at.
"It keeps the competition alive for longer and it probably deserves that with the level of competition within the teams now as well."
Otago batter Caitlin Blakely is sitting on 98 list games for the Sparks and is poised to bring up her 100th on Sunday.
"It is a huge effort to bring up a 100 games for your province in one format," Cumming said.
"She has been around for a long time but you look at her performances in the last three years in both formats and she has been a real shining star. She is the greatest team person you could ask for and probably the hardest working player on and off the field."
