Australia women's cricket team captain Meg Lanning on Monday stepped back from her role as skipper of the Victorian side as two-time ICC T20 World Cup winner Sophie Molineux took over from one of country's most successful cricketers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Left-arm spinner Molineux had also captained the Melbourne Renegades to the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) finals in her first campaign as captain last year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The 30-year-old Lanning, who recently guided Australia women to their record-extending seventh 50-over World Cup title in New Zealand, was named captain of Victoria as a 22-year-old in 2014 and believes it is the right time to hand over captaincy to a new candidate.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It's been a huge honour to captain Victoria and I love representing my state. The Victorian squad has some fantastic young leaders and I'm excited to continue working with them in the seasons ahead," said Lanning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Cricket Victoria's head of female cricket Sharelle McMahon said Lanning endorsed Molineux as the outstanding candidate.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Meg's been an amazing Victorian captain for a long period of time and we're excited about the future leadership potential in the squad," McMahon said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We're fortunate to have Meg's leadership skills to support Sophie and the full squad in years to come. Sophie has done a fantastic job leading the Renegades and has long been seen as a leader within Victorian cricket. This is an excellent opportunity to further her leadership skills with our playing group.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Molineux said it was a great opportunity.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Coming from country Victoria it's a privilege to be named captain of the state. I've really enjoyed the challenge of captaining the Renegades and am looking forward to the years ahead with Victoria.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Playing with and learning from Meg since I started at Victoria has been a great experience, she has an incredible understanding of the game, hopefully I'm able to take some of that into my own game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It's an exciting time for Victorian cricket, we have a really talented young squad who have been working hard over the off-season."<\/p>\r\n\r\n