Former Australia captain Meg Lanning has become a freelance cricketer after opting not to take a contract with Victoria for next season.

Since retiring from international cricket Lanning has remained on Victoria’s books but played just four games for them last season and none after the WBBL. She has franchise deals with UP Warriorz in the WPL and Manchester Super Giants in the Hundred while this season joined Lancashire for the T20 Blast.

Lanning is currently off-contract with Melbourne Stars where she was the second-highest run-scorer in the league last season with 479 at 53.22 and a strike-rate of 136.07.

“We support Meg’s decision,” Cricket Victoria head of female cricket Kirby Short said. “The women’s game is growing, and players are now presented with opportunities across the world, which is ultimately a positive reflection of the evolution of our game.”

Tayla Vlaeminck and Tess Flintoff return to the domestic list after losing their Cricket Australia contracts

Meanwhile, Short admitted the club were “not proud” of the 2025-26 season where they lost all 12 matches.

“We’re certainly not proud of the results from last season, and we understand we need to be better.” Short said. “What is most encouraging is the shared understanding that’s come from our reflection.

“There is alignment across staff and players about the environment we want to create. It is going to take a lot of hard work, and we understand it will be a case of incremental progress, rather than chasing an overnight solution. We are certainly up for it.”

Ira Aery, Sophie Day, Samara Dulvin, Nicole Faltum, Tess Flintoff, Kim Garth (CA), Hasrat Gill, Olivia Henry, Milly Illingworth, Rhys McKenna, Sophie Molineux (CA), Indigo Noble, Mia Perrin, Georgia Prestwidge, Zoe Samuel, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland (CA), Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham (CA), Bronte Leishman (R)