WOMEN'S WORLD CUP 2017

Meg Lanning ruled out of South Africa clash

by Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on

Meg Lanning has scored 328 runs in 5 innings at an average of 109.33 © Getty

Australia captain Meg Lanning has been ruled out of their last group-stage fixture of the Women's World Cup against South Africa due to a shoulder injury. Lanning, the tournament's second highest scorer so far, had also missed the match against Pakistan on July 5 owing to the same injury.

Rachel Hayes, who replaced the injured Lanning in the Pakistan game, is expected to be recalled to the line-up once again.

Australia coach Matthew Mott had previously revealed the plan to manage Lanning's workload, considering the amount of cricket the team was about to play in the World Cup. Mott also stated that the shoulder has been troublesome for quite some time now.

"We've been managing (Meg) for the last couple of months, the shoulder's been giving her a bit of grief," Mott had said earlier this month.

"We always envisaged that she was going to miss a game or two through the tournament, we're just trying to manage the shoulder through."

According to an official release, the decision to keep her out of the South Africa game was part of the ongoing management of her injury and she will be assessed daily going forward.

The group-stage game against South Africa will not have any bearing on the make-up of the four teams in the knockouts, since both the teams have already qualified. Australia will hope that sitting out of this fixture should be enough for their key batter to recover. In five innings thus far, Lanning has raked up 328 runs, only two behind top-scorer Tammy Beaumont. The Aussie skipper has led from the front with a fifty and a century each, averaging a staggering 109.33 in the tournament.

© Cricbuzz

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