Meg Lanning won’t play for Australia in the upcoming T20I and ODI Series against the West Indies; instead, all-rounder Tahlia McGrath will serve as vice-captain. Australia on Friday unveiled a 13-player squad for the white ball series against the Caribbean team.
Lanning was declared ineligible for the Ashes in May and subsequently missed the next ODI series in Ireland due to medical issues. According to Cricket Australia’s medical staff, Lanning is still not available for selection.
After overcoming the damaged finger that prevented her from playing in Australia’s last ODI against Ireland in August, Healy took over as captain once again. Due to a knee injury, Ellyse Perry also missed the most recent ODI against Ireland, but she has been nominated to return.
Despite missing the third ODI against Ireland owing to injury, Healy (finger) and Ellyse Perry (knee) are anticipated to be completely healthy for the West Indies series. As assessed by Cricket Australia’s medical staff, Meg Lanning is still not available for selection, the organization announced in a statement.
Dr. Pip Inge, the team physician for the Australian Women’s team, said that although Meg is improving, she is still unable to play competitive cricket. Meg’s comeback to play has not yet been scheduled, but we believe she will do so gradually via domestic cricket.
“CA medical staff will continue to work closely with Meg, and an update on her availability will be provided in due course.”The opening T20I of the back-to-back series will take place at North Sydney Oval on October 1 and will be followed by matches in Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne.
Since winning the 2023 T20 global Cup and retaining the Women’s Ashes, the current global champions haven’t competed on home soil.
The inclusion of Alana King for the ODIs, who replaces batter Grace Harris at the end of the T20Is, is the only alteration to the lineup between the two forms.
Alyssa Healy, Tahlia McGrath, Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris (only for T20 internationals), Jess Jonassen, Alana King (only for ODIs), Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, and Georgia Wareham make up the Australian team.
