Photo Credit: Melbourne Stars
Meg Lanning has been unveiled as the new captain of the Melbourne Stars as the club also confirms the signing of all-rounder Bhavi Devchand to complete its roster this Rebel WBBL season.
Lanning assumes the captaincy from Elyse Villani who captained the Stars through WBBL|04.
“I’m looking forward to leading the Melbourne Stars again and building on the great work Elyse Villani has done. It’s a privilege to be captain and we’re pretty happy with how our squad looks ahead of the tournament. More than anything, I’m really looking forward to getting back to playing cricket, firstly with Australia and then with Stars in WBBL,” Lanning said.
Devchand, 27, signed her first contract with Victoria this season and has previously played for the Perth Scorchers and Gloucestershire.
“Bhavi is obviously new to the Stars team and the Victorian squad this season. We’re looking forward to having her involved in WBBL and I’m sure she’ll take a lot from the opportunity,” Lanning added.
Lanning captained Stars in the opening two seasons of the WBBL before her move to Perth.
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Melbourne Stars WBBL Head Coach Trent Woodhill said he was pleased with how the squad had come together.
“I think we’re in a pretty good place. In recent seasons we’ve been able to make some competitive totals with the bat but have struggled to take key wickets and really break a game open,” Woodhill said.
“We’ve made some changes for this season which I hope will start to make that difference at key points in matches. I’m delighted Meg has agreed to return to the captaincy, and I’d like thank Elyse for her leadership over the last 12 months – she has done a fantastic job.”
“Bhavi has already had WBBL experience in Perth and gives us greater depth which will be important with the workload ahead,” Woodhill added.
Full squad: Meg Lanning (C), Katherine Brunt, Nat Sciver, Elyse Villani, Mignon du Preez, Annabel Sutherland, Lucy Cripps, Bhavi Devchand, Alana King, Holly Ferling, Erin Osborne, Tess Flintoff, Georgia Gall, Sophie Day, Nicole Faltum.
