Meg Lanning to lead Melbourne Stars; Bhavi Devchand completes 15-member squad

Western Australia allrounder Bhavi Devchand rounds off Melbourne Stars 15-member squad for the sixth season of the Women's Big Bash League, with Meg Lanning having been announced as captain. The Australian skipper will take over from Elyse Villani who was in charge of the side for two seasons.



"I’m looking forward to leading the Melbourne Stars again and building on the great work Elyse Villani has done," Lanning said. "It’s a privilege to be captain and we’re pretty happy with how our squad looks ahead of the tournament. More than anything, I’m really looking forward to getting back to playing cricket, firstly with Australia and then with Stars in WBBL."



Meanwhile, Lanning expressed excitement at the signing of Devchand, who is one of six new additions to the Stars' squad this season.



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"Bhavi is obviously new to the Stars team and the Victorian squad this season," said Lanning. "We’re looking forward to having her involved in WBBL and I’m sure she’ll take a lot from the opportunity."



Alongside Lanning and Devchand, the additions of England allrounders Katherine Brunt and Natalie Sciver, Sophie Day and Georgia Gall are expected to significantly strengthen the side that experienced a horror run last season. In 2019, the Stars managed only two wins in 14 games to finish at the bottom of the table.



Newly appointed head coach Trent Woodhill said he was happy with the balance of the squad which also includes Australia allrounder Annabel Sutherland and South Africa batter Mignon du Preez. He admitted that the signing of several allrounders would bolster the bowling department - an area in which the side struggled last season.



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"I think we’re in a pretty good place," Woodhill said. "In recent seasons we’ve been able to make some competitive totals with the bat but have struggled to take key wickets and really break a game open. We’ve made some changes for this season which I hope will start to make that difference at key points in matches."



"I’m delighted Meg has agreed to return to the captaincy, and I’d like thank Elyse for her leadership over the last 12 months – she has done a fantastic job."



Stars have now become the fifth club to complete their roster for the season.



Squad: Meg Lanning (c), Katherine Brunt, Nat Sciver, Elyse Villani, Mignon du Preez, Annabel Sutherland, Lucy Cripps, Bhavi Devchand, Alana King, Holly Ferling, Erin Osborne, Tess Flintoff, Georgia Gall, Sophie Day, Nicole Faltum.