Meg Lanning excited to start afresh for Melbourne Stars

"WBBL is always an exciting time of year and always a great competition, so I'm looking forward to getting started with the Stars," Lanning said.

"Obviously, most of them (the team) were coming out of lockdown here in Sydney so they are happy to get out. I do know most of them from Victoria, and the internationals as well, so it hasn't been too bad getting back in," she said.

Looking to turn things around from the forgettable performance last year, Lanning said that the addition of England stars Natalie Sciver and Katherine Brunt tilts the balance of the squad in their favour.

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"She (Sciver) is obviously a great player and has been for a while now. Katherine Brunt brings a lot of competitiveness and she's a world-class player too, so it's nice to have them on the Stars' side," Lanning added.

Speaking about the village in which all eight teams have camped out for the tournament, the 28-year-old applauded the work that has been put in to create the setup. "The village is great. I know a lot of people have put a lot of work to get it up and running and make it as good as it can be, and I think they've done an excellent job."

The Stars are set to kick off their campaign against Melbourne Renegades, and the skipper said that the side would do well not to underestimate their city rivals who have some high-class players in their squad. "So, first game against Melbourne Renegades - we've spent a lot of time with the Renegades girls both in Sydney and in Brisbane as well, so it will be interesting to come up against them."

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Within the bubble, Lanning said that there is an interesting dynamic with several age-groups all dealing with different things. With many of the players still in school, she said the youngsters have used the opportunity to get together to study for their exams.

"I suppose talking to a few of the younger girls they have been having some really good study times - getting together and getting all that together," she said. "It's a great effort for them to come along and be involved. It's obviously a very important year for them, but there's a lot of different people in the hub with different situations and for everyone to come and be involved is great."

Lanning added that 17-year-old Tess Flintoff is someone to watch out for this year. "She is still going through Year 12 which is great to be here. But she's just getting better all the time and has had a good pre-season, so looking forward to her getting out there," she concluded.

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