Meg Lanning, the captain, was named to the Australian women's one-day squad on Friday to play Pakistan, ending an undetermined hiatus of several months and allaying concerns that she had competed in her final international match. After guiding her all-conquering team to gold at the Commonwealth Games, the record-breaking 30-year-old made the abrupt announcement that she was retiring from the sport in August. After a busy streak of victories for Australia and Lanning, which included a World Cup victory, she stated at the time that she needed to "concentrate on myself."

National selector Shawn Flegler said on Friday that Lanning was "all in" to play Pakistan at home the following month, though it was uncertain if she would return. "We had always hoped she would come back and play, and a great story really," he added. "Obviously, she's taken this time to work out what's really important for her, things she needs to do to manage herself.

"You know, it's a tough gig being the Australian captain and she has done it for a long time, so just really pleased she's refreshed, happy and knows what she wants to do." Lanning made her debut at the age of 18, and she now holds the record for the most century in women's one-day international cricket.

At age 21, she became Australia's youngest-ever captain and has steered the team ever since. Alyssa Healy, who led the team when Lanning was absent, will miss the entire series due to a calf injury, thus Australia will play Pakistan in three one-day internationals beginning on January 16 in Brisbane and Sydney.