Meg Lanning, the captain of the Australian women's cricket team, has announced her retirement from international cricket at the age of 31, almost 13 years after she made her debut.
The 31-year-old released a statement and said, “The decision to step away from international cricket was a difficult one to make, but I feel now is the right time for me.”
“I’ve been incredibly fortunate to enjoy a 13-year international career but I know now is the right time for me to move on to something new.
"Team success is why you play the game, I’m proud of what I have been able to achieve and will cherish the moments shared with teammates along the way."
Lanning will continue playing in domestic leagues such as the Women's National Cricket League and the Women's Big Bash League.
As one of the most successful captains in Australian sport history, Lanning retires having won more World Cup trophies than any other captain in cricket history. More than any other women's player, she captained Australia on 182 occasions and guided the group to an unprecedented five World Cup victories.
Under Lanning's leadership, the Australian women's team amassed an 80% winning percentage and, between 2018 and 2021, set a world record for the most consecutive ODI cricket victories (26).
In 241 international matches, the seven-time World Cup winner and three-time Belinda Clark medallist amassed 8,352 runs. Throughout her international career, the top-order batter amassed 17 centuries.
At the age of 18 years and 288 days, she scored 104 not out against England at the WACA Ground, making her the youngest Australian to score a century. She made her international debut on December 30, 2010, in a T20I match against New Zealand. She had only played two ODIs and three matches.
When Lanning was named Australian captain at the age of 21, she had already won the T20 and ODI World Cups (2012) and 2013, respectively, and had led the Australian women's team to a run of unparalleled dominance.
The stylish batter was crowned the Belinda Clark medallist three times across a four-year period between 2014 and 2017, highlighting her sustained brilliance and ability to consistently deliver match-winning performances in all formats of the game.
Captaining Australia to one ICC Cricket World Cup (2022), four ICC Women’s T20 World Cup (2014, 2018, 2020 and 2023) titles and a Commonwealth Games gold medal ensures Lanning retires as one of the most decorated captains in the history of cricket.
The crowning moment of Lanning’s storied international career came in her hometown of Melbourne when she lifted the T20 World Cup in front of 86,174 fans at the MCG on March 8, 2020.
In what turned out to be Lanning’s final match in the green and gold, she led Australia to the 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup title in front of a packed crowd at Newlands in Cape Town earlier this year.
With IANS Inputs
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