Marsh One-Day Cup: The run to the final

Ladder-leaders Queensland have been boosted by the return of skipper Usman Khawaja for the climax of the Marsh One-Day Cup competition as states look to sew up a spot in this month's final.

Five of the six sides are still in with a mathematical chance of qualifying for the November 26 decider - to be contested by the top two teams at the home venue of the No.1 side - with the final five group-stage games to be played in the coming days.

Each team receives four points for a win while up to two bonus points are also on offer in each match if a team manages to secure victory by a significant margin.

We've broken down what your side needs to do to make the final.

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Queensland

(18 points, Net Run Rate: 0.826)

Squad: Usman Khawaja (c), Xavier Bartlett, Max Bryant, Cameron Gannon, Charlie Hemphrey, Matthew Kuhnemann, Nathan McSweeney, James Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Billy Stanlake, Mark Steketee, Bryce Street, Jack Wildermuth

v Tasmania at Blundstone Arena on November 18 (Fox & Kayo)

A narrow victory over Western Australia on the Gold Coast last month catapulted the Bulls to the top of the Marsh Cup table and the omission of their skipper Khawaja from Australia’s Test side is a boost for their bid to remain there.

Defeating Tasmania at Blundstone Arena on Monday should be enough to secure a home final, provided neither Western Australia nor South Australia claim bonus-point wins or a significant boost to their Net Run Rate.

Khawaja is averaging 71.50 in one-day cricket this summer and has hit two tons, and his side may need his runs even more against the Tigers given they will be without the tournament's leading run-scorer Marnus Labuschagne along with fellow Test call-ups Joe Burns and Michael Neser.

Western Australia

(18 points, Net Run Rate: 0.553)

Squad: Ashton Turner (c), Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Cameron Green, Liam Guthrie, Josh Inglis, Matt Kelly, Shaun Marsh, Josh Philippe, Jhye Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis

v South Australia at Karen Rolton Oval on November 17 (CN & Kayo)

Western Australia are level with the Bulls on points and behind only on Net Run Rate, having notched four wins and two bonus points from their six games.

Victory over their hosts at Karen Rolton Oval on Sunday will be enough to secure a spot in the final but a loss could see the Redbacks, boosted by the return of quick Daniel Worrall from injury, leapfrog them into second.

Shaun Marsh (280 runs) and D'Arcy Short (231) have been key batters in the tournament, as has Cameron Bancroft (273), but the latter will be absent for their Marsh Cup tilt following his call-up to the Test side to face Pakistan.

WA could still reach the final even if they lose to SA, but would need other results to go their way.

South Australia

(14 points, Net Run Rate: 0.13)

Squad: Jake Lehmann (c), Wes Agar, Alex Carey, Tom Cooper, Callum Ferguson, Harry Nielsen, Kane Richardson, Alex Ross, Cameron Valente, Jake Weatherald, Daniel Worrall, Adam Zampa.

v Western Australia at Karen Rolton Oval on November 17 (CN & Kayo)

v Victoria at MCG on November 19 (Fox & Kayo)

The Redbacks are a win behind Queensland and WA but have a game in hand and have picked a strong squad for Sunday's clash with WA.

Along with Worrall, Australia limited-overs players Alex Carey, Kane Richardson and Adam Zampa are all available for both that match and Tuesday's game against Victoria at the MCG.

Two wins could even see the Redbacks host the final, while a win and a loss could put them into second, though their low Net Run Rate could count against them if they split their last two games.

Victoria

(Eight points, Net Run Rate: -1.17)

Squad: Peter Handscomb (c), Xavier Crone, Travis Dean, Andrew Fekete, Aaron Finch, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Jon Holland, Matthew Short, Peter Siddle, Will Sutherland

v New South Wales at MCG on November 17 (Fox & Kayo)

v South Australia at MCG on November 19 (Fox & Kayo)

The reigning domestic 50-over champions are all but out of the race to defend their title this year having lost three of their first five games.

Victoria would need to obliterate both New South Wales and South Australia on their home turf and significantly boost their Net Run Rate while also picking up at least two bonus points to have any chance.

That task will be made even harder with three of their leading batsmen (Glenn Maxwell, Will Pucovski and Nic Maddinson) absent due to mental-health reasons, while they'll also be without James Pattinson due to his Test call-up.

Tasmania

(Seven points, Net Run Rate: -0.482)

Squad: Ben McDermott (c), George Bailey, Jackson Bird, Jake Doran, Nathan Ellis, James Faulkner, Caleb Jewell, Riley Meredith, Simon Milenko, Clive Rose, Gurinder Sandhu, Beau Webster, MacAlister Wright.

v Queensland at Blundstone Arena on November 18 (Fox & Kayo)

v New South Wales at Blundstone Arena on November 20 (Fox & Kayo)

It's a similar story for the Tasmanians, who have won the same number of games as the Vics but are a point behind having been penalised for a slow over-rate in their season opener against Western Australia at the WACA.

That makes their tilt at a spot in the final almost impossible; the Tigers would need to win both games at home (which would give them a further eight points) and add three bonus points to be in with any chance.

New South Wales

(Five points, Net Run Rate: -0.173)

Squad: Peter Nevill (c), Nick Bertus, Harry Conway, Jack Edwards, Matthew Gilkes, Liam Hatcher, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Nathan McAndrew, Arjun Nair, Daniel Sams, Jason Sangha.

v Victoria at MCG on November 17 (Fox & Kayo)

v Tasmania at Blundstone Arena on November 20 (Fox & Kayo)

New South Wales sit 13 points behind second-placed Western Australia and not even two victories with a full complement of bonus points from their final two matches will see them qualify for the final.

The Blues have been shorn of their Test stars and could hand Jason Sangha his first game of the season against the Vics, while Liam Hatcher and Arjun Nair have both been included in their squad.

They will try to get one over one of their closest rivals when they travel to Melbourne to take on Victoria at the MCG in their penultimate match of the tournament before travelling to Hobart to face Tasmania.