Melbourne Stars captain Meg Lanning to miss WBBL

The Australia captain stepped away from cricket following Australia's gold medal-winning Commonwealth Games campaign and has put no timeline on her return

Melbourne Stars captain Meg Lanning will miss the 2022/23 Women's Big Bash.

The Australia skipper stepped away from cricket following her side's gold medal-winning Commonwealth Games campaign and has put no timeline on her return.

"After a busy couple of years, I've made the decision take a step back to enable me to spend time focusing on myself. I'm grateful for the support of CA and my teammates and ask that my privacy is respected during this time," she announced in a statement in August. 

^{Meg Lanning opted to take a break from cricket following the Commonwealth Games [Ryan Pierse/Getty Images]}

Lanning has represented both the Stars and Perth Scorchers during her WBBL career, scoring 2,725 runs at 42.57 (one century, 27 fifties) in 78 appearances. Only four players – Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Sophie Devine and Elyse Villani – have scored more runs in the competition's history.

In 54 appearances for the Stars, the 30-year-old a team-leading 1,805 runs at 41.97, including 18 half-centuries while as captain, she has won 27 of her 54 matches at the helm (the best record of any Stars skipper) and led her side to the WBBL final in 2020/21 – their only appearance in the playoffs to date.

Her replacement is yet to confirmed.

WBBL08 is scheduled to begin on October 13, with Melbourne Stars taking on Brisbane Heat in their first match on October 15.

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