Enough space in the calendar to have separate windows for these leagues, says Meg Lanning

Australia captain Meg Lanning expressed her disappointment at the postponement of the 2021 World Cup in New Zealand that was scheduled to be played in February-March. The International Cricket Council (ICC) recently announced the decision to postpone the tournament by 12 months in order to give all the participating teams enough time to prepare for the event considering the restrictions that have come about in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It obviously came upon us pretty quickly yesterday. It was the first time we found out. and we were planning for it (the World Cup) to go ahead, but obviously it's disappointing news that it won't be happening early next year and it's been postponed 12 months,” Lanning said during an interview on Channel Nine’s show, Sports Sunday.

“(That’s the decision) the ICC have come up with. It's a very complex situation and obviously there's a lot going on around the world with the pandemic. So, health and safety does come first. So, we accept the decision and we look forward to 2022.”

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Lanning, who has played 188 internationals for Australia, said the team can't wait for cricket to resume with the series against New Zealand and the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) after that.

“For us, the WBBL every year is a really important tournament and something that's a lot of fun as well. We always look forward to that. So that's probably our big thing for the domestic cricket. We've still got the New Zealand series coming up andthat's just before the WBBL. So hopefully that can still happen. We are still waiting to hear confirmation on that."

With India's Women's T20 Challenge set to clash with the WBBL this year, the Australian skipper said she hoped separate windows for these domestic leagues - the WBBL, WIPL and The Hundred - could be created in the future.

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“Obviously with the IPL, (as) Australian players, we would love to be involved in something like that, but this year there is obviously a clash, which is not ideal, but that that's the decision that's been made. Ideally, going forward, when things are probably back to normal a little bit, there's enough space in the calendar for the WBBL, the IPL and, and also the Hundred as well.”

“They're going to be really important tournaments for the women's game moving forward. So hopefully down the track, that's what can happen.”

Meg Lanning will turn out for Melbourne stars in the WBBL this year. © Getty Images

Lanning will represent Melbourne Stars in the coming season of WBBL having signed a contract with the franchise after making the decision to move from Perth Scorchers. The 28-year-old believes overseas stars are an integral part of WBBL and is hoping to see them in the competition this season, but expressed her apprehension about where things stand at the moment.

“We are not too sure at the moment. Obviously the WBBL has had a lot of international players playing it in the past, and they really do add to the competition,” she said. "So, if we can get international players at the WBBL, we would love to do that. But obviously I think South Africa have a series, and (I think) West Indies as well. So, that's going to lead players to have to make a choice, I guess, on whether they want to play WBBL or the IPL.”

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“It's a difficult position to be in because, especially this year, there's not a lot of cricket to be played. We haven't been put in that position before. I guess it's a good thing that there's options, but ideally the window would be for WBBL and then the IPL can be played at a different time to allow all the world's best players to play in (both) those competitions.”

Lanning, who recently captained Australia to their fifth T20 World Cup title in March, said the squad is preparing to play some cricket this summer and hopes boards are proactive enough to schedule a few fixtures early next year with the World Cup having been postponed. She suggested another series against New Zealand could be a good option.

“Obviously, the series coming up (against New Zealand) is supposed to be in Australia and hopefully that does go ahead, but with the window opening up in Feb-March next year, we can get creative and, you know, put some series in there. New Zealand is the obvious choice... Obviously, they've done very well with COVID and eradicating that,” she added.

“Hopefully it means we can come up with some different options, as long as we can play some cricket. I guess that's the most important thing. And, and for us players, we're just preparing to play as much as we can. We understand that the situation is changing all the time and it's a very serious situation around the world, but we will prepare to play as much as we can and then hopefully there's some cricket around the summer.”

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