The red-and-blacks will be chasing their ninth straight national inter-provincial title and their 20th in the last 21 years.
``Given that it's a final, maybe things will get a little tighter, but I'll be disappointed if it's not a 200-plus game,'' the coach said. Thorn hoped the Dudley Park pitch would be a good batting wicket and ``deserving of the women's final''.
``One of the pluses for this league is that we've been playing on some really great wickets which has made for good cricket. We played at the Basin Reserve on the one-day strip there and we rattled on about 190 in 30 overs.''
Although Canterbury captain Debbie Hockley is the leading run-scorer in the league with her 373 runs, including two centuries, her record with the toss has been less than impressive.
``We've given up on Debbie,'' Thorn said jokingly. ``She's not been very successful at all.''
Not that failing to win the toss has harmed the top-qualifying Canterbury very much. Its only loss was to Auckland by just 23 runs when the teams met for the second time in early December.
Since then, Thorn said, Father Christmas had come and ``delivered (previously unavailable) Katrina Withers back to us.'' Already the all-rounder had picked up 11 wickets and became the leading wicket-taker. ``She's a very, very good strike bowler.''
Thorn said that the side's batting line-up was its strength, and the fielding had been ``really something to see'' with players like Lisa Astle, Helen Watson, and Jo Lawler regularly hitting the stumps with throws.
The Aucklanders have six past or present New Zealand players against Canterbury's four, and Emily Drumm, Shelley Fruin, and Megan Tyler have all scored more than 270 runs in the series.
That presumably has prompted the Canterbury Cricket Association to headline its media release, ``Auckland poised to upset champions''.
The teams are:
Canterbury: Debbie Hockley (capt), Lisa Astle, Catherine Campbell, Paula Flannery, Sally Frahm, Jo Lawler, Amiria Marsh, Catherine Moffat, Nicola Payne, Haidee Tiffen, Helen Watson, Katrina Withers.
Auckland: Kathryn Ramel (capt), Emily Drum, Shelley Fruin, Sara McLauchlan, Tracey Mortensen, Claire Nicholson, Zoe Plummer, Rachael Potter, Rebecca Rolls, Anja Soma, Munokoa Tunupopo, Megan Tyler.
Umpires: Dave Quested, Peter Williams. Start: 11am.