Meg Lanning back in the nets after mystery withdrawal from the WBBL

Fears the former Australian captain might not play cricket again have eased after she made a return to the nets in Melbourne.

Former Australian skipper Meg Lanning will return to cricket for Victoria next week ending fears she could have been lost to the game after her international retirement.

Lanning and injury-plagued fats bowler Tayla Vlaeminck have been included in the Victorian squad for games next week when the 50-over WNCL competition resumes.

For Lanning it will be her first game since skipping the end of the WBBL season last November, one of three personal breaks she took from the game over recent years which cast a shadow over her future.

Vlaeminck, one of the fastest bowlers in the world, is in line to play her first game for Victoria since December 2021 having endured a series of injuries, the most recent being shoulder surgery last August.

Cricket Victoria’s Head of Female Cricket, Sharelle McMahon, said the team were thrilled to welcome Vlaeminck and Lanning back.

“It is fantastic to be able to have Meg and Tayla back in a playing capacity,” McMahon said.

“Tayla has worked incredibly hard to get back into a position to play cricket again. She has been so positive and resilient throughout her injury, and we can’t wait to see her back out there.

“Meg is a legend of our game and a legend of Victorian cricket - we’re excited to have her back out on the field in the navy blue and playing cricket for Victoria again.

New year, same standards 😤#vicsdoitbetterpic.twitter.com/Q1vLHuTQUW

— Victorian Cricket Team (@VicStateCricket) January 11, 2024

Australian stars Ellyse Perry and Georgia Wareham will also play later next week after returning from a successful tour of India.

as back in the nets for Victoria on Thursday in her first outing since skipping the end of the WBBL for personal reasons.

There had been fears Lanning, who made the shock decision to end her international career last November having taken two long self-imposed breaks from the game may have not played again.

Those fears intensified when Lanning stepped away from her role with the Melbourne Stars in the WBBL midway through the tournament and didn’t return.

Lanning, who amassed a mammoth amassed 8352 runs from 241 international matches in an extraordinary career for Australia, including 182 matches as captain, remains contracted to the Melbourne Stars for the next two seasons.

She is also contracted to the Delhi Capitals in the Women’s Premier League in India and her return to the nets at the Junction Oval this week with her Victorian teammates signalled the 31-year-old would be playing cricket again.

Victoria will play the ACT in two games in Melbourne next week.

Originally published as Meg Lanning back in the nets after mystery withdrawal from the WBBL