Chris Jordan has returned to the Knights and is in the squad for Sunday's home clash with the Auckland Aces at Seddon Park.

Jordan was a star of last season's competition and a favourite of the Knights faithful, helping them to the Super Smash title last season.

He returns to the Knights for two matches before heading to the Big Bash with the Sydney Thunder and is looking forward to being back in the Knights set-up.

"I'm so excited to be joining the Knights again," said Jordan.

"I had so much fun last year, especially winning the competition.

"I'm only here for two games, but hopefully I can have enough of an impact to help us go all the way again."

Jordan returns to a team who find themselves in familiar territory at the top of the table after three rounds.

Sunday's encounter promises to be a thriller, with plenty of runs scored across two tightly-fought encounters in last year's competition.

In the day's earlier match, the SkyCity Hamilton Northern Spirit will look to make it three on the bounce when they take on the Auckland Hearts.

The Spirit have played some quality cricket since the resumption of the competition, falling short in a close match against the Wellington Blaze before overcoming the Central Hinds and Otago Sparks in consecutive matches.

Head coach Kari Carswell said it was difficult to identify what factors had contributed to the Spirit's recent upturn in form.

"We haven't really changed too much to be honest. We've kept training hard, stuck to our plans and now we're starting to get our reward."

"We were playing some good cricket before but just not getting across the line in those matches, so maybe it's just that our luck has turned," added Carswell.

Sunday is the last home match of the campaign for the Spirit and with it, the last home double header; a feature of the calendar which Carswell said has been a great experience.

"Seeing the side play in front of these crowds, with the Knights playing straight after, has been amazing. You can't help but get caught up in the excitement of it all," said Carswell.

"It would be great to finish our home matches with another win and to keep climbing the table."

SKYCITY HAMILTON NORTHERN SPIRIT BURGER KING SUPER SMASH SQUAD - ROUND NINE V AUCKLAND HEARTS - SUNDAY, JANUARY 6, 2019, 12.45pm

Samantha Curtis (c)

Kate Anderson

Bernadine Bezuidenhout

Carolyn Esterhuizen

Katie Gurrey

Brooke Halliday

Mereana Hyde

Felicity Leydon-Davis

Lily Mulivai

Brianna Perry

Eimear Richardson

Alisha Rout

Charlotte Sarsfield

KNIGHTS BURGER KING SUPER SMASH SQUAD - ROUND FOUR V AUCKLAND ACES - SUNDAY, JANUARY 6, 2019, 4.00pm

Dean Brownlie (c)

Corey Anderson

Peter Bocock

Anton Devcich

Daniel Flynn

Brett Hampton

Chris Jordan

Scott Kuggeleijn

Daryl Mitchell

Tarun Nethula

Mitchell Santner

Neil Wagner