The 'Canes, with six wins and six losses, sit fourth on the table with two matches to play.

A win against bottom-ranked Melbourne Renegades at Marvel Stadium on Tuesday would secure a top-five spot.

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Skipper Matthew Wade, who starred with 83 not out against the Thunder, wants the group to finish the regular season strongly.

"It looks like we're going to be in the finals now so couldn't be happier, we'll play a couple more games and see what happens," he said.

Paceman Riley Meredith, who took a dazzling 3-29 on Thursday, is likewise pumped about where the 'Canes are at.

"It's exciting, it was a great fight back from the boys. They (the Thunder) were absolutely flying at the 10-over mark, to be able to wind them back and keep them under our total (6-177) and win the game was promising for us," he said.

"Who knows where we can go from here."

Wade, who came back from a two-match break, recorded his second-highest score of the tournament on Thursday following a dry spell with the bat.

"It's just the way cricket goes, I've played long enough to know the wheel will turn eventually if you stay confident and back yourself," he said.

"I hadn't scored the runs that I'd like to have in previous games but I had a bit of a change of role and just went out there and tried to play the way I know I can, so fingers-crossed that happens for the rest of the tournament but you've just got to hang in there and stay positive and stay confident - that's the only way to do it."

He batted at number three instead of opening.

"It doesn't really bother me too much, I've batted so much everywhere now so whether it's three or opening, I go out there and do what I can do," he said.

"I think for our team that's the best order, I like (Caleb) Jewell up the top, me at three doesn't make any difference with D'Arcy (Short) at four so we load it up a bit at the top and see what happens."

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