The Sydney Sixers will have the added advantage of two extra marquee players above the Women's Big Bash League limit this summer, as they push for their third straight title.
But the squad is perfectly legal, with the club's shrewd roster management and NSW's burgeoning talent leaving Cricket Australia (CA) to approve their list.
Under the competition rules, teams are restricted to five marquee players, made up of those with national contracts from the previous summer and a maximum of three of them from overseas.
However, the Sixers have seven in total, including World Twenty20 player-of-the-tournament Alyssa Healy, player-of-the-final Ashleigh Gardner and superstar allrounder Ellyse Perry.
Young quick Lauren Cheatle, Kiwi Sara McGlashan and South Africans Marizanne Kapp and Dane Van Niekerk are also back on board.
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The situation was triggered when all players were midway through their deals with the power club, before both Gardner and Cheatle were elevated to marquee status this season by a change in the classification.
"Some might say we've been smart about our recruitment, but we also create an environment where our players really enjoy playing," Sydney Sixers general manager Jodie Hawkins told AAP.
"There has been a fair bit of luck as well.
"We've really been able to showcase some talent which has elevated the girls to the international level."
The situation is largely as a result of the NSW Breakers' dominance of the Australian system, with all four of the CA-contracted players hailing from the state.
The Sixers also took full advantage when CA allowed multi-year deals in the WBBL ahead of last summer, when they locked in all seven long term.
CA did not want to force players to be released mid-contract, however if any of them become unavailable during the tournament only local players can replace them.
A decision will also need to be made next season on which two off-contract overseas players to re-sign, with Perry, Healy and Gardner still contracted, while Cheatle will drop off the marquee list.
There are other anomalies in the system, with youngsters Sophie Molineux and Georgia Wareham not considered marquees for the Melbourne Renegades, given they didn't have national contracts last year but since played in the World T20 final.
