Lanning relishes new role in return to form

Meg Lanning is back.

Australia’s captain and superstar batter blazed her way to an unbeaten 88 in the T20I tri-series final against England on Saturday, not only guiding her team to a record 4-209 but also ensuring she remained undefeated for the five-game series.

In her first tour since undergoing shoulder surgery last August, Lanning was understandably rusty in the one-day international series earlier this month, posting knocks of 33, 24 and 18 batting at No.3.

But the 20-over format gave Lanning the freedom to simply attack, as she stripped off the rust and piled on the runs.

A new role coming in lower down the order than she typically has throughout her career meant Lanning spent less time at the crease than she may otherwise have, but there was plenty to like about her knocks of 35no, 11no, 41no, and 88no.

Aside from a dropped chance that brought up her half-century, the Australian captain was near-flawless on Saturday, finding the boundary 16 times and clearing it once in her 45-ball onslaught.

“I was just getting back into it in those one-dayers and the T20 format has suited me,” Lanning said after Australia claimed a 57-run win.

“I could just come out and play pretty freely and that allowed me to spend more time in the middle.

“Once I got going, I felt quite comfortable again and was able to keep attacking and playing my strokes.

“The key today was to be clear on where my strength areas are and where I’m trying to hit the ball.

“it’s about placement, (at least) for me that’s what it’s about rather than trying to hit sixes all the time.

“It’s just about being clear on where I want to go and I was able to do that today.”

Lanning’s recovery from her shoulder reconstruction is an ongoing process, but the Australian captain, who turned 26 last week, is well on track. She sat out one match during the tri-series to manage the joint, while throwing overarm is still 6-12 months away.

But she produced a stunning one-handed leaping catch against England on Wednesday – crucially going no harm to her shoulder when she landed – while she grew increasingly confident playing her full range of shots throughout the Commonwealth Bank Tour of India.

With the subcontinent series now successfully ticked off, Lanning has six months to continue her rehabilitation process before Australia’s next international engagement in September.

And with a near-flawless Commonwealth Bank Tour of India now complete, one T20 loss to England the sole blemish, Lanning hopes it’s the start of something big for her squad with a World T20 to be played in the Caribbean in November.

“It was a very important series for us, for establishing the way we want to play and getting players into the roles we think suit them the most,” she said.

“We saw throughout the ODIs as well, that style of play we want was there.

“It’s irrelevant which format we play, we want to play the same way and make sure we’re trying to push the game forward all the time.

“That will be our driving force over the winter and whatever games we do get to play, we want keep trying to nail it down as best we can.

“This is a good starting point but we know we need to keep improving and hopefully by the time we get to the World Cup we’re in a really good spot.”