Meg Lanning believes Australia won't change too much in the ODIs

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Meg Lanning pleased with Australia's dominant show

Meg Lanning, Australian captain. © CA DIGITAL (Cricket Australia)

Australia have two things that most teams are desperately looking for - depth and momentum. Such has been the dominance of Meg Lanning's side that the rest of the teams are struggling to try and match their standard.



After drubbing Sri Lanka in the three-match T20I series the hosts' next target is the three-match ODI series - the first of which is scheduled to be played on Saturday (October 5). Australia have won 15 ODIs in a row - a streak that began in March 2018. Should they win all three matches against Sri Lanka they will set a new record - surpassing Belinda Clark's team which won 17 matches on the trot. The odds are heavily stacked in the hosts' favour - they last tasted defeat in this format against England in October 2017.



Speaking of depth, Australia made two changes in the T20I games - Nicola Carey and Erin Burns came in place of Delissa Kimmince and Ashleigh Gardner respectively and both performed admirably, further underlining the strength of Australian domestic cricket. Lanning is naturally happy to have such a luxury at her disposal.



"We have got five or six openers that can bat up the order," Lanning said, when addressing the media on Friday (October 4). "The challenge, I guess, for us is to try and use everyone’s talent as much as we can and give whatever role we can for different people. I think in the T20 format we have been trying to find out and give opportunities to different players throughout the series."



"Having said that, anyone can come in to play any role. We have got Ash Gardner at six who has come in and played a few cameos along the way. So, hopefully we can see a few (people put their hands up) in this series as well."



Lanning admittedly does not want to change things too much while risking the momentum or form that has been built up. She asserted that she wants her team to continue to display the ruthlessness and dominance they are known for.



"We don’t want to change too much as our form is good. We have got a pretty set formula that works well with our batting. We are a little bit flexible towards the end, but there are so many people who can play various roles in our team," she said. "We have got almost five or six opening batters in our side. So, it's difficult to argue that let's give everyone an opportunity but we will stick to our standard early on and hopefully lay the foundation for them."



Australia have already secured a place in the ICC Women's World Cup 2021 to be held in New Zealand. The 3-0 sweep of West Indies in the ODIs have also pushed them to number one on the points table. However, Australia will look to widen the gap further by trying to win another series.



"I think it’s a good competition going out there. So, we are coming into the series want(ing) to win every game. We know we want to start well in the first ODI as it sets the platform nicely," the Australian skipper added.



Australia will play all the three ODIs at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane.
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