Relaxed Lanning eager to 'go with the flow' in captaincy return

Meg Lanning is embracing her new life as a freelance T20 specialist, as she prepares to bring a more relaxed approach to her third stint as Melbourne Stars captain.

Lanning, who was the club's inaugural skipper from WBBL|01-02 and later resumed the role after a three-year stint with Perth Scorchers, has taken the reins for WBBL|12 from Australia allrounder Annabel Sutherland, who stepped down after two seasons at the helm.

This will be Lanning's first Big Bash leadership role since retiring from international cricket in 2023 – although she has led WPL and The Hundred sides in the intervening period – and the 34-year-old said on Wednesday she expected to bring a more mellow version of herself this time around.

"I think I'm a little bit more relaxed, happy to go with the flow a little bit more," Lanning said. "I probably was a bit stuck in my ways back when I was doing it a few years ago.

"I feel like I've got a good balance now with cricket and away from the game as well. We've got so much experience with this side, so I think a lot of the time, I'm just going to be facilitating those players and helping bring the best out of them."

Lanning turned down a Victorian state contract this season, instead plying her trade in various T20 competitions around the globe.

She lined up for Lancashire in English county cricket, then reunited with former Australian coach Matthew Mott at Manchester in The Hundred. From there, Lanning headed to Barbados, where she played for Jamaica in the Women's Caribbean Premier League.

"It's given me the freedom to play in different tournaments throughout the world," Lanning told cricket.com.au earlier this week of stepping away from a year-round commitment to Victoria.

"I went over and played the CPL, which I hadn't been able to play before so that was cool, just to experience a different team, a different competition, and keep playing along the way.

"I'm really keen to play as much as I can, that's the part that I really love, so this has just given me that real flexibility to do that whenever opportunities pop up, which has been great."

This is the first time since she debuted for Australia as an 18-year-old in 2010 that Lanning has not held an annual contract, and admitted it had been an adjustment.

When she's been in Melbourne, Lanning has been working with Stars batting coach Blake Reed and said she was as hungry as ever to keep improving despite stepping away from state cricket.

"It's been a bit different – obviously, I'd had state or Australian contract for however many years, so to not have that structure and program operating there has been different, it's taken a little bit of getting used to, but it just means I can make the decisions based on what's best for my cricket and maximise those playing opportunities," she said.

"(Blake's) been really great to work with, just trying to expand my game and keep improving along the way, so that's been good.

"And as far as I see it, I get to come in and bat for 45 minutes, an hour, and be very purposeful and then I'm done for the day, so I don't have to hang around for six hours to do the same thing ... I like that part of it, I'm pretty to the point and like to be pretty purposeful.

"I feel like I've sort of started to work out the right balance. I've enjoyed it so far.

"It comes with its challenges, but I love playing, and I love competing and trying to help the team that I'm playing in win as many games as possible, so that competitive drive is still there ... I still want to perform as well as I can and really try and dominate the competitions that I play in, so I feel like it's in a good spot at the moment, and I'm really looking forward to WBBL this year."