Former Australian captain Meg Lanning will take the reins at the Melbourne Stars in this season’s WBBL after superstar Annabel Sutherland decided to step down to focus on her on-field contributions to the team.
Sutherland skippered the Stars for the past two seasons but had modest returns with the bat that belied her international form, which included winning the Belinda Clark Award as the country’s best player two years in a row.
“I’ve loved captaining the Stars these past two seasons and I’m really keen to continue to be a leader this season and keep developing my skills in that space,” Sutherland said.
“I really want to contribute to the team’s success in the best way I can, and I think by sharing the load with the leadership, I can hopefully make a bigger impact with the bat and ball.
“We know we are in great hands with Meg – she knows the game as well as anyone and has had so much success as a captain.
“It’s going to be a great chance to spend another season working together, alongside Rich (cosch Richard Pyrah) who I just spent a season with in The Hundred.
“Every WBBL experience is such a good opportunity to learn and get better as a leader and player. Working with Rich and Meg this season will no doubt help me become a better captain for whenever the next opportunity comes.”
Lanning has played 109 matches for the Stars and previously captained them for five seasons, with the legendary batter averaging more than 40 in a glittering WBBL career.
“It wasn’t on my radar to captain again, but I want to do what’s best to help the team win,” Lanning said.
“We’ve had discussions as senior players about how we can work together to lead the team, rather than it all falling on one person.
“We want to get the best out of each player and we think this is the best way to do that, so I’m happy to take on this role.”
New coach Pyrah has backed the decision ahead of the team’s first game of the season on October 29.
“It takes a lot of courage and humility for Annabel to recognise that the best thing for the team is for her to focus on her performance and stand aside from the captaincy,” he said.
“The easy thing would be for her to keep the title and continue on, but this move just speaks volumes of her character.
“We’ll no doubt see the best version of Annabel, which we’ve seen so often on the global stage, for the Stars this season.
“I’ve been equally as impressed by Meg’s attitude in embracing the new opportunity.
“She has captained this team before, but there is a real emphasis on Meg, Annabel and Kim sharing the workload as leaders this season.
“They have made it clear that this isn’t one person’s team – it takes a collective effort and we’ve got the right mix of people to lead this new era of the club.
“We want to create the most enjoyable environment possible at the Melbourne Stars. The Big Bash is all about having fun and winning games the right way, and I think we’re taking all the right steps to do that this season.”
Originally published as ‘It wasn’t on my radar’: Meg Lanning to captain Stars after Annabel Sutherland relinquishes role