This Meteor orbits the planet in search of the sun

But for ACT Meteors captain Katie Mack this hasn't quite been the case.

She's just returned from a season playing with Lancashire in the north of England, where the conditions weren't all that summery.

"When I first got there it was like winter," she says.

"I think for the first game it was about 12 degrees, windy and cold, and it didn't get much better over the season."

It seems rather incongruous to be launching a cricket season in July, but perhaps it was a sign of good fortune that the sun came out over Phillip Oval just in time for a catch-up with one of the Meteors' star players.

The team will need a season of good weather if it's to complete a hectic schedule, which now includes a new T20 Spring Challenge Competition alongside the 12 Women's National Cricket League games.

The Meteors begin their WNCL campaign in Adelaide in late September and have a second-round bye before kicking off their four T20 Spring Challenge games in Sydney on Friday, October 11.

The new T20 competition will run for 10 days prior to the Women's Big Bash League, with a final to be played on Sunday, October 20.

The Meteors will then resume WNCL duties when they host Queensland on December 20 and 22, and home rounds against Victoria and Western Australia in the New Year.

Mack will also have to squeeze in a series for Australia A against India A during August, after her selection in the team across all three formats, with three T20 games in Brisbane, three one-day games in Mackay and her first four-day match at the Gold Coast late in the month.

She says she's looking forward to catching up with new Meteors teammates, particularly Zimbabwean international leg-spinner Anesu Mushangwe who she played alongside in Adelaide in the WBBL; top order batter and all-rounder Shivani Mehta; and leg-spinner Chelsea Moscript. Canberra all-rounder Zoe Cooke also returns after a season in Queensland.

"Last year was a beginning for a lot of the team and now that they've got some experience under their belt, and alongside these tested players, I think there's heaps to be excited about," she says.

She said the new T20 competition would be a good opportunity for fringe players to put themselves in the spotlight.

"It's great we'll get to play a bit of T20 before the Big Bash starts and get the rhythm right," she says.

"Some of the Meteors don't get to play a lot of T20 cricket at that level, so it will be a great chance for them to put themselves out there and hopefully pick up a contract."

Mack has to do that herself, she jokes, saying she better give someone in Adelaide a call once she's unpacked her bags and gotten a little sun.