Meg Lanning became captain of Australia at 21-years-old and won her side multiple titles - "I feel like I have nothing left to achieve on the international stage. I no longer have the spark to do what needs to happen at this level. For me, it's time to move on"
Monday 13 November 2023 05:50, UK
It’s difficult to overstate the importance of Meg Lanning's career, not only in Australian cricket, but for the women’s game across the globe.
She led her side to unprecedented success winning five T20 World Cup titles, two 50-over World Cups and a Commonwealth Games gold medal over her 241-match career.
Lanning’s legacy was cemented in Australian cricket well before she announced her retirement from the international scene on Thursday, and one that deserves to be etched on the same board as other great Australia captains like Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting.
Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley praised Lanning saying she “led a generation which has helped revolutionise the game.”
"I would like to congratulate Meg on her incredible career as an Australian cricketer and all she has achieved as captain of the Australian women's cricket team," Hockley said.
"One of the finest cricketers Australia has produced, Meg's supreme achievements with the bat have been matched by her inspiring leadership.
"Under Meg's leadership, the Australian women's cricket team has built a legacy of global dominance and has been at the forefront of growing the game and inspiring the next generation of cricketers all around the world."
Lanning’s statistics speak for themselves. She amassed 8,352 runs in all formats which included 17 centuries and 38 half-centuries over a 13-year career.
Lanning made her debut on December 6, 2008, scoring three runs for Victoria in a win against the South Australian Scorpions at the Adelaide Oval, where she was almost timed out because she decided to redo her hair.
But perhaps that perfectly encapsulates the calmness Lanning embodied as a player and a captain. She would often arrive at the crease when Australia were in danger, soak up the pressure, play her brilliant cut shot into the offside and lead her side to multiple victories.
So, how can you adequately pay tribute to such a great cricketer? Maybe you can't.
Lanning consistently outdid herself. She famously brought an end to England’s unbeaten record at Chelmsford in 2019 where she hit the highest score in a Women’s T20 international - breaking her own record - as Australia clinched the Women’s Ashes series outright.
During the Women’s T20 World Cup in 2020, Lanning's team beat India in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground by 85 runs, and she became only the third Australian captain to have won a World Cup on home soil, placing herself alongside Michael Clarke and Lyn Larsen.
She was fittingly nicknamed 'Megastar' by her team-mates and also played a critical role in fighting for equal pay in women's professional cricket.
In 2022, Australia outclassed England to become the 50-over World Cup champions. A year later, they won their sixth Women's T20 World Cup beating South Africa in Cape Town to become double champions and Lanning was the captain for both achievements.
When Sky Sports Cricket pundit and England batter Tammy Beaumont was asked if the Australian women's team were the greatest ever to play the game, the answer was quite simple.
"You could argue that they're the greatest cricket team of all time, challenging that great Australian [men's] team of the 2000s when I was growing up," Beaumont said.
"They just keep on winning. They're an amazing outfit. They keep reinventing themselves and bringing in young players who are performing on the biggest stage.
"They were investing in their players, which is why you see 17, 18 year-olds walking from the Women's Big Bash League into international cricket.
"Australia are 10 years ahead of everyone else. They had up to 90 professional women's cricketers 10 years ago and everyone else is playing catch up."
Sky Sports' Nasser Hussain also hailed Australia as the "best side in the world" after their T20 victory this year.
"It took us three weeks to find out what we already knew - Australia are the best side in the world," Hussain said.
"That's twice now they have got a hat-trick of T20 World Cup wins. They keep evolving. And any sporting organisation will tell you, if you stay at your level, others will eventually catch up.
"They look incredibly hungry, fit and athletic and will be like this for years to come."
In a tearful press conference, Lanning said she was sad to be retiring but remains positive about the future.
"Something I've come to appreciate the more my career has gone on is the people that I met and the moments and memories that have been created," Lanning said.
"I think about those now and they're really special to me. Scoring runs and helping my team win, doing as well as I can has been something I've loved. Being part of a really special team and working with them has been my life for 13 years.
"I know nothing other than that. I've learned so much. I'm sad it's finishing up, but I'm ready for something new and experiencing things other than playing cricket.
Lanning added: "I feel like I have nothing left to achieve on the international stage and for me I can't be half in, half out with anything. I no longer have the spark or the motivation to do what needs to happen at this level. For me, it's time to move on and I'm very excited about that."
An emotional Lanning bowed out in front of Melbourne Cricket Ground where a group of youngsters walked by turning around constantly to investigate what was going on.
Maybe that is symbolic of Lanning's legacy in itself, turning heads even in retirement.
A wonderful captain, cricketing extraordinaire, and the architect of remarkable Australian cricket dominance.
