Towering quick Campbell back for rejuvenated Sixers

Stella Campbell is set to make a much-anticipated return from injury for Sydney Sixers on Friday as they look to continue their perfect start to Weber WBBL|08.

The towering right-arm quick, who debuted for Australia 12 months ago, endured a six-month period on the sidelines after undergoing back surgery at the end of last season.

Now Campbell has returned to full fitness and is set to join Ellyse Perry and Lauren Cheatle in a formidable Sixers pace attack.

If she does take the field against Adelaide Strikers on Friday afternoon at Karen Rolton Oval, it will be her first outing since a domestic one-day game against Tasmania in mid-March.

"I had a microdiscectomy - basically, I had a disc bulge in my lower back, so the surgery was cutting out that bulging part," Campbell told cricket.com.au on the eve of the season.

Following her surgery, Campbell was restricted to nothing more strenuous than light Pilates for the first 12 weeks.

A further 12 weeks were then spent slowly and steadily working her way back to bowling off a full run-up, and training at full tilt.

"I knew what I was in for when I had the surgery, so I was mentally prepared for it," Campbell said.

"There's definitely been a few days there where it's been a bit of a drag, and it's been a bit tough.

"But I've had really good support around me, here at cricket and at home. So I'm very lucky for that."

The 20-year-old debuted for Australia in Tests and ODIs against India at the start of the 2021-22 summer, and was a late addition to the Ashes squad in January when Tayla Vlaeminck was forced out of the series with a serious foot injury.

At 184cm, she stands taller than most of her counterparts in the Australian women's game, giving her a point of difference alongside her pace - she has been clocked in excess of 120km/h.

Helping the Sixers in their push to return to the WBBL finals after a three-year absence will be top of her priority list, but if Campbell can impress, there is also the chance to put her hand up for a return to national duties, with a T20I tour of India, home ODIs and T20Is against Pakistan and the 2023 World Cup in South Africa all pencilled in for the next four months.

"I'm absolutely buzzing to get out there, I can't wait," Campbell said of her return to the magenta.

The Sixers will take on an Adelaide Strikers side desperate to claim their first points of WBBL|08, after twin defeats to the Sixers and Melbourne Renegades - the two teams they will meet again this weekend - in Mackay.

Campbell is not the only exciting arrival to the weekend's WBBL action; Heat international recruits Danni Wyatt and Pooja Vastrakar have joined their new teammates ahead of their two matches in Adelaide.  

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