Lanning predicts selection rotation for Australia at CWC25
One thing Australia can boast is depth and former great Meg Lanning believes they will leverage that throughout their ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 campaign.
Australia have started their World Cup title defence as well as possible, winning their opener against New Zealand before copping a washout against Sri Lanka in their second scheduled fixture.
With depth right to the end of their 15-player squad, it's believed they intend on mixing up their XI throughout the tournament, taking a horses-for-courses approach at the different venues they will play games at across both India and Sri Lanka.
That's certainly the opinion of former Aussie star Meg Lanning, who felt for Megan Schutt, one of the unlucky omissions when Australia played the White Ferns last week.
"It was a brave call because 'Shooter' (Schutt) is a world-class bowler and has been for a very long time," Lanning said on the latest edition of The ICC Review.
Australia's World Cup campaign off to a winning start | Match Highlights | CWC25
Australia seal a dominant win over New Zealand in their first game at the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025.
"But I think, as will happen in every game in this World Cup with Australia, they'll base their decision on matchups and also conditions. And the great thing about the squad is that they've got different options that can come in and play a role. So they obviously felt like Darcie Brown was a better matchup for New Zealand. I think they can keep mixing and matching and I think they will.
"There's a couple of players who will miss out throughout the tournament. It'll just come down to who they think the best matchups are for the key batters in the opposition lineup.
"I'm sure Shooter will be fuming that she wasn't playing. She's a very competitive person and will want to get back in the team as quickly as she can. And then when she gets her opportunity, I'm sure she'll do well. But that is a really good luxury that the Aussies have is that it doesn't matter, I guess, who goes out there on the park. They can always play a role, which is a nice position to be in."
Lanning admits that Australia and Sri Lanka's washout adds a bit more pressure to their respective campaigns.
"(The washout) is not ideal," she continued.
"I guess that that would have been a match that the Aussies would have gone in believing that they could win and sort of set themselves up nicely for the rest of the tournament. So ... it does put a little bit more pressure on the games you're playing against stronger opponents because they're the games that potentially you could drop and you sort of bank on winning the ones that you feel like you might be able to get through a little bit easier.
"So I don't think they'll be too worried about it because everything's obviously in their control still. But you get another washout or something else that doesn't go your way, a few spanners, it puts a little bit more pressure on them."
Australia are next in action on Wednesday, taking on Pakistan in Colombo.
Australia Squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
