Former Australia captain continues global T20 journey with deals in India and England
Former Australia captain Meg Lanning has opted out of a state contract with Cricket Victoria as she continues focusing on franchise cricket around the world.
Since retiring from international cricket, Lanning had remained part of Victoria’s setup but featured in only four matches last season and did not play after the WBBL campaign. The star batter is currently involved in multiple T20 leagues, representing UP Warriorz in the WPL and Manchester Originals in The Hundred, while also signing with Lancashire Women for the T20 Blast season.
Lanning is also presently without a contract at Melbourne Stars despite enjoying an impressive WBBL season, where she finished as the competition’s second-highest run-scorer with 479 runs at an average of 53.22 and a strike rate of 136.07.
“We support Meg’s decision,” Cricket Victoria’s head of female cricket Kirby Short said. “The women’s game is growing, and players are now presented with opportunities across the world, which is ultimately a positive reflection of the evolution of our game.”
Meanwhile, fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck and all-rounder Tess Flintoff returned to Victoria’s domestic squad after missing out on national contracts from Cricket Australia.
Short also acknowledged Victoria’s disappointing 2025-26 campaign, where the side lost all 12 matches across the season.
“We’re certainly not proud of the results from last season, and we understand we need to be better,” Short said. “There is alignment across staff and players about the environment we want to create. It will take hard work and incremental progress rather than searching for an overnight solution.”
Victoria Women 2026-27 squad
Ira Aery, Sophie Day, Samara Dulvin, Nicole Faltum, Tess Flintoff, Kim Garth, Hasrat Gill, Olivia Henry, Milly Illingworth, Rhys McKenna, Sophie Molineux, Indigo Noble, Mia Perrin, Georgia Prestwidge, Zoe Samuel, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham and Bronte Leishman.
