What's next for the Aussie World Cup champions

Meg Lanning says Australia will take time to savour and enjoy their latest major piece of silverware before turning their minds to the next major goal. 

But the majority of the triumphant Australian squad will almost immediately turn their attention to another major milestone in the women’s game: the start of the inaugural Women’s Premier League, which begins on Saturday. 

Twelve members of Australia’s World Cup squad were picked up in the WPL auction earlier this month and fly directly from Cape Town to Mumbai, where they will touch down on March 2. 

The five-team tournament, which will be staged across two venues in Mumbai, will run until March 26, with each of the franchises to play eight matches before finals. 

Lanning will be joined at Delhi Capitals by Jess Jonassen, while Alyssa Healy will captain the UP Warriorz, where she will play alongside Grace Harris and Tahlia McGrath. 

Beth Mooney will captain the Gujarat Giants, and her roster includes newly crowed World Cup player of the tournament Ashleigh Gardner as well as Annabel Sutherland and Georgia Wareham.

Meanwhile Ellyse Perry and Megan Schutt are bound for Royal Challengers Bangalore while Heather Graham is the sole Aussie at Mumbai Indians. 

"It’s super exciting," Lanning told cricket.com.au on the morning after Australia’s 19-run win over South Africa in the final at Newlands.  

"I know everyone who's heading over there is really, really pumped to be involved.  

"It's a massive step for the women's game.  

"There's a lot of time, effort and money being put into the tournament and it's only just the beginning.  

"Everybody's really excited to get over there and join their respective teams, meet new people and join in what is going to be an amazing tournament, we can't wait to get over there and get started." 

Once the WPL is completed and the Australians have enjoyed their annual player leave period, the remainder of 2023 and early 2024 is shaping up as a hectic period for the national side. 

In early June they will travel to the United Kingdom to defend the multi-format Ashes, a series that will be immediately followed by three one-dayers in Ireland in late July. 

Home ODI and T20I series against West Indies will follow in late September-early October, leading into Weber WBBL|09 throughout October and November. 

A history-making first multi-format trip to India beckons in December and early January – a series that will include the Australian women’s first Test on Indian soil since 1984. 

Then, the Aussies will return home to host South Africa in three ODIs, three T20Is and the first ever women’s Test between the nations. 

Understandably, fresh off sealing Australia’s third T20 World Cup in as many tournaments, Lanning is not quite turning her mind to those challenges just yet. 

"We'll try and savour this (World Cup win) and soak it all up and make sure that we recognise what an achievement it is," she said. 

"World Cups are not easy to win … to be able to keep winning when we know we have targets on our back, teams are coming pretty hard at us (is special). 

"We're always the ones that are under the pump, so to be able to keep winning and keep taking some punches along the way, I think is a is a really great achievement from the group and something I'm really proud of."  

ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Alyssa Healy (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham

Australia's T20 World Cup 2023 fixtures

Feb 11: beat New Zealand by 97 runs

Feb 14: beat Bangladesh by eight wickets

Feb 16: beat Sri Lanka by 10 wickets

Feb 18: beat South Africa by six wickets

Semi-finals

Feb 23: Australia beat India by five runs

Feb 24: South Africa beat England by six runs

Final

Feb 26: Australia beat South Africa by 19 runs