Lanning returns to Stars for WBBL tilt
WORLD Cup-winning Australian captain Meg Lanning has rejoined the Melbourne Stars for the next three WBBL seasons after three years with the Perth Scorchers.
The 28-year-old Victorian returns to the team she captained in the first two seasons of the WBBL before jumping ship to the Scorchers where she missed her first season after shoulder surgery.
Only five players have scored more WBBL runs than Lanning who was the Stars’ inaugural women’s captain and the leading run-scorer in the first two WBBL seasons playing with Melbourne.
Lanning, who has signed a three-year-deal, returns to a team which finished bottom of the table last summer with just two wins from 14 matches.
The Stars are also the only WBBL team to have never reached the finals.
“I’ve signed for an extended period and I’m really looking forward to building some momentum … to build a successful team,” Lanning said.
Lanning said discussions about resuming the captaincy would happen when training began.
The WBBL signing embargo has only just been lifted, and the Stars have six players, including Lanning, on their roster to play under new coach Trent Woodhill.
Lanning said working with Woodhill, who has been a batting guru to the likes of Australian superstar David Warner, was a strong lure to head home to Victoria.
“His knowledge of the T20 game and to have worked with so many great players and different franchises in different tournaments is great experience to have, so I’m certainly looking forward to working with him and seeing what his philosophy is on T20 cricket especially,” he said.
Woodhill, who is also the state list manager for both men’s and women’s squads, said having Lanning back was a massive boost for the green team as it tries to become a WBBL force.
“Having Meg back at the Stars is huge, it’s almost like starting again,’’ Woodhill said.
“It’s the chance for the Stars to reset.”
“We won’t be putting too much pressure on Meg to be the star of the show, but we know Meg is a star of world cricket.
“We want to be able to provide her with the environment where she can thrive, and bring out the best in her by having as much fun as possible through success and establishing a winning culture.”
The Stars will spend most of the WBBL season on the road when it starts on the weekend of October 17-18, not playing in Melbourne until November.
Meanwhile, the Indian Premier League, the world’s richest cricket tournament, will be held in the United Arab Emirates from September if India’s government gives approval, the IPL chairman, Brijesh Patel, announced on Tuesday.