Cricket Australia announced that Australian captain, Meg Lanning, would be absent from the Aussie side for the 2023 Women’s Ashes starting on the 22nd June in England.
It was reported that Lanning had ‘withdrawn from the squad due to a medical issue which requires management from home’. The nature of her issue is unclear however, it is confirmed that she will be unavailable for Australia’s tour of England.
Head of women’s cricket performance at Cricket Australia, Shawn Flegler, spoke to the media saying: “It’s an unfortunate setback for Meg and she’s obviously disappointed to have been ruled out of the Ashes”.
Fleger continued saying “it’s a significant series for the team and she’ll be missed, but she understands the need to put her health first”.
The Ashes are considered the most important series in the calendar – England taking on Australia every two years, a battle dating back for centuries. For women’s cricket, it’s developed into a multi-format series including a Test Match, three One Day Internationals and three T20 matches.
Meg Lanning as a player
Since making her Australia debut in 2010, Lanning has enjoyed an illustrious international career including five T20 World Cups, two 50 over World Cups, four successful Ashes series and a Commonwealth Games Gold medal to top it off.
Some of her 241 caps have been won in these successful campaigns and her contributions to Australian women’s cricket over the past 13 years have been outstanding. Any team would feel the absence of a player who has scored over 8000 international runs but this is even more present in a series as anticipated as the Ashes.
Lanning has featured in six Ashes series, both home and away, and due to her time playing franchise cricket such as the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) and most recently the Women’s Premier League (WPL), the 31-year-old has spent time as teammates with her English opposition.
This is valuable experience which will be missed, especially given the youthful nature of England’s bowling attack who Australia have had little opportunity to face yet.
More than stats and lists of achievements, Lanning is a calming presence. She’s quiet but gets the job done and is a reassuring presence for the Aussies in tense moments. Her technical ability is admirable but the confidence she instils in those she is batting with, wins games.
Who fills Lanning’s role?
A player of Lanning’s calibre is irreplaceable however, Australia have the world’s strongest women’s domestic structure and there is plenty of young talent emerging. Lanning’s absence provides 20-year-old Phoebe Litchfield an opportunity to have an impact in her first Ashes series.
Making her international T20 debut against India in December 2022, Litchfield went on to make her ODI debut against Pakistan a month later on home soil. It was only going to be a matter of time before her international recognition came, having had a few successful seasons for Sydney Thunder in the WBBL.
Ultimately, Lanning leaves a gap in the said however, Australia have proved that they can win from absolutely anywhere, they will bat comfortably to number nine – sometimes even number eleven and they are considered one of the best teams in the world. For this reason, it’s difficult to see how losing one player would completely dent their chances of Ashes domination. Yet, losing your leader a key run scorer would affect every team – even the world’s best.
Meg Lanning as a captain
Losing Meg Lanning as a player is one thing but losing her as a captain is another. Lanning took the captaincy in the absence of Jodie Fields who suffered a broken finger during the 2013/14 Ashes. It made Lanning Australia’s youngest ever captain and she has since become the most decorated one. Undeniably, she has been a key figure in the Aussie side, leading her team to back-to-back World Cup wins and 26-match winning streak in One Day Internationals.
In recent years, it’s been clear that the absence of a captain can be detrimental to international sides such as England and South Africa in the summer of 2022 when skippers Heather Knight and Dane van Niekerk were unavailable due to injury.
However, Australia have spent time with Lanning missing. In August 2022, just after Australia secured gold at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Lanning took an indefinite break from cricket – missing Australia’s tour of India. Playing five IT20s, Australia dominated winning four out of the five fixtures – their loss coming from a super over.
Australia may feel Lanning’s absence as captain given how present she has been in that winning machine as skipper for almost a decade. The Ashes is no ordinary multi-format series and comes with added pressure, extra media coverage and higher expectations.
Alyssa Healy taking the captaincy
Admitting that she has a very different style of captaincy to Lanning, Alyssa Healy has led Australia previously – taking up the role in India in late 2022. Interestingly, in a press release by Cricket Australia, Healy mentioned that “I wouldn’t say I love doing it” when speaking about captaincy. The wicket-keeper batter acknowledged her love of vice-captaincy but was hesitant to express her fondness of leading the team.
It will be interesting to see that different style of captaincy come to fruition, but Healy is fortunate that she has a team full of leaders, cricket brains and experience.
Will this effect Australia’s Ashes campaign?
Probably not. Australia are a winning machine who are hard to stop – even at their weakest. Retaining the Ashes will be easier for the Aussies than England winning them back. Lanning’s impact on the side is undeniable but Australia has the best depth out of all teams and are mentality monsters. It’s Australia’s series to lose but they will certainly be up for whitewashing the English.
The fixtures are listed below starting with the 5-day test match, followed by three IT20s and concluding with three One Day Internationals.
Test match, Trent Bridge, Nottingham (22nd – 26th June) – 11am
1st T20I, Edgbaston, Birmingham (Saturday 1st July) – 6.35pm
2nd T20I, The Oval, London (Wednesday 5th July) – 6pm
3rd T20I, Lord’s, London (Saturday 8th July) – 6.35pm
1st ODI, The Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol (Wednesday 12th July 12) – 1pm
2nd ODI – The Ageas Bowl, Southampton (Sunday 16th July) – 11am
3rd ODI – The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton (Tuesday 18th July) – 1pm
Tickets are still available to purchase here:
https://www.ecb.co.uk/tickets/england
