In what could be termed as a major blow for the hosts, Australia, the Women’s team skipper Meg Lanning will miss out the all-important Ashes series following a major right shoulder surgery after picking up the injury during the recently concluded ICC’s 50-over World Cup in England.
Lanning’s shoulder was wrapped in a bandage during the semi-final clash against Mithali Raj-led India last month (June), as the former batter was dismissed on a duck.
“Meg has been managing a right shoulder injury and following the recent World Cup, it became apparent that she would require surgery,” the team physio Kate Mahony was quoted as saying by Fox Sports.
The aggravated injury of Lanning further went on to hamper her services for the national set-up. Pertinently, the major surgery will eventually rule out the batswoman Lanning from any of the competitions in cricket field for at least six months to recuperate.
“Meg underwent surgery earlier this week and we expect that she will require a long rehabilitation period of six to eight months,” Mahony added.
Moreover, the Cricket Australia (CA) has confirmed the unavailability of the batter, as the replacement of Lanning, as a skipper is yet to be decided by the Board. The right-handed batter Lanning, who has smashed 11 hundred and 11 fifties, respectively in the One-Day format, is undergoing rehabilitation process and is being closely monitored by the management of the Board.
The World no.1 batswoman Lanning expressed disappointment, as she further wished best in favour of the Southern Stars before her teammates would wrestle in the upcoming competition.
“It’s very disappointing to be unavailable. It’s an incredibly special occasion for any cricketer to be a part of and I wish the team all the best as they set out to retain the Ashes,” Lanning said after being ruled out of the much-awaited tournament.
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The 25-year-old Lanning had played a pivotal role for Australia in the 50-over format, added she is looking forward to returning to international circuit soon.
“I’m looking forward to getting stuck into my rehabilitation and returning to cricket as soon as possible,” Lanning maintained.
Earlier, out of the eight matches, Lanning was the part of six games in the World Cup before Rachael Haynes stepped-up as an interim skipper.
“She’s going to need some time out of the game, but how long that is, we actually don’t know,” Australian coach Matthew Mott revealed.
The Women’s Ashes is scheduled to kick start from 22 October in Brisbane. In October and November, the series is comprised of three One-day Internationals and three Twenty20 Internationals, respectively, as the solitary Test will be played against the recent World Cup-winning side England, as the home team is aiming to retain the coveted title.
Lanning has featured in 63 ODIs, 70 T20Is and three Tests for Australia. The promising batter scored 2,999 runs in 50-over format at the average of 54.52.