Meg Lanning is set to make her competitive return with Victoria after being named for the state's opening-round Women's National Cricket League (WNCL) matches against Western Australia.
Lanning was on Friday named in a 16-player squad for the matches in Perth next week, her first competitive outing since sitting out the Ashes in June and July.
Australia's skipper will miss the home white-ball series against West Indies next month, but her comeback with Victoria is an important step in her return to the national team.
Lanning was ruled out of the Ashes over health concerns just weeks before Australia left for England.
She briefly featured in a warm-up match for Victoria against NSW in Queensland earlier this month, playing in one of three games on the Sunshine Coast.
Officials are hopeful a return to domestic cricket will pave the way for the 31-year-old to feature in Australia's multi-format tour of India in December and January.
"That's the plan," chief selector Shawn Flegler said last month.
"We're hopeful she will come through domestic cricket first up and see how things progress.
"She was up at the Sunshine Coast and I caught up with her there. She's progressing well.
"She's going well, Meg. We're very hopeful that she's back on deck at some point during the summer for Australia."
Lanning took a break from the game last year following Australia's gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, but returned for a home series against Pakistan in January.
She captained Australia to a Twenty20 World Cup title in South Africa in February, and played in the Women's Premier League in India in March before being ruled out of the Ashes in May.
Ellyse Perry (knee) will also return for Victoria in the first match against Western Australia on Tuesday, and has been cleared to face West Indies next month.
Fellow international star Alyssa Healy made her return from a fractured finger for NSW against Queensland in the WNCL opener against Queensland on Friday, but did not keep wicket.
She is expected to face West Indies on October 1 at North Sydney Oval.
