Meg Lanning’s absence from Ashes starting to impact Australia

Australia had only lost one T20 for two years before back-to-back losses in the Ashes, and one superstar’s absence is starting to show.

There’s an inescapable truth that Meg Lanning’s absence would become telling for Australia, and as the women’s Ashes turned on its head last weekend, that became clear.

Lanning was a last-minute withdrawal from the multi-format series for undisclosed medical reasons, having also spent six months out of the game in 2022 for a mental health break.

During that time the Australians adjusted to life without their talismanic captain, the winningest captain in ICC tournaments ever, and made up for the glut of runs Lanning has long provided.

An opening Test victory for the Aussies in England, under the leadership of Alyssa Healy, was a positive sign, followed by an opening win in the T20 series to give Australia a 6-0 points lead.

But back-to-back T20 losses have whittled that lead away, and the score is now 6-4 heading into the final three ODIs, with Australia needing just one more victory to retain the Ashes.

Alyssa Healy (left) has been leading Australia in Meg Lanning’s absence. Picture: Warren Little/Getty Images

Australia coach Shelley Nitschke admitted her team was missing Lanning but was confident they had the players to wrestle back the momentum the home team gained with their T20 wins.

“She’s one of the best players in the world and she’s been in our cycle a long time, so we were definitely going to miss her,” Nitschke said of Lanning, who averages 53 in ODIs and has the second-most international T20 runs in women’s cricket history.

“Any team that has had Meg Lanning in their side will miss her when she’s not there.

“She’s always made a lot of runs over here, so we’ve certainly missed her, but I still think we have the team and good depth to cover.”

The Australians went with the same, unchanged side through the T20s and Nitschke hinted that could change for the 50-over games, a format in which the World Cup winners have won 15-straight games.

“Potentially, yeah. That’s something we’ll look at over the next couple of days,” Nitschke said ahead of Wednesday’s opening ODI in Bristol.

“I still felt like we still haven‘t played our best cricket. It’s a tight turnaround now to the ODIs, but we’re still staying alive in the Ashes series, which is what we’ve come here to win.

Ellyse Perry leads Australia’s runs haul in Meg Lanning’s absence. Picture: Dan Mullan/Getty Images

“We’ve just got to have a look at our game and make sure when we start the ODI series that we’re correcting some of those errors that we’re making and that we’re really sharp.

“They’re playing good cricket, so we certainly know that we have to play really good cricket as well. We certainly know that it’s not going to be an easy task for us.

“They might have the momentum but that can change pretty quickly. We’re confident that we can swing the momentum back our way.”

The final three ODIs will be played at Bristol, Taunton and Southampton.

Originally published as Meg Lanning’s absence from Ashes starting to impact Australia