Meg Lanning, the captain of Australia, has been named to the roster for Victoria and is set to play in the WNCL 2023–24 (Women’s National Cricket League). For their opening two games against Western Australia in Perth on September 26 and 28, she was included on the starting lineup.
Before being authorised to compete in the initial match, Victoria’s medical department must give their final consent for the top-order batter. To compete in her first competitive match since March 2023, she will go to Perth. Notably, the 31-year-old missed this summer’s women’s Ashes series because of an unspecified medical condition.
The opening batter hasn’t competed in a game since the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in March and hasn’t played for the national team since the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in February. She was also left from Australia’s roster for the next white-ball series against the West Indies at home.
Meg Lanning would make her comeback to domestic cricket first, according to Shawn Flegler, the women’s national selector for Australia.
The right-handed hitter is making good progress, he continued, and the squad is looking forward to her comeback.
“We’re hoping she’ll succeed in domestic cricket first, and then we’ll see how things develop from there. We met up with her while she was on the Sunshine Coast. She is making good progress. We want her to return through domestic cricket first to see how she does, and that’s just a part of the return-to-play strategy, but Meg is doing great. Very hopeful that she will be back on deck for Australia at some point this summer,” Flegler stated in earlier September.
Ellyse Perry has also been included to the Victoria Women team to make her comeback after missing the Women’s Hundred and the final ODI against Ireland due to a knee injury.
“Having people with the calibre and expertise of Kim Garth, Ellyse, Georgia [Wareham], and Annabel [Sutherland] accessible gives us a tremendous boost. Meg’s return to the team has also been wonderful, and we are excited that she will be going to Western Australia with the team, according to Cricket Victoria’s head of female cricket, Sharelle McMahon.