One of cricket’s most glorious innings came to an end on Thursday. Meg Lanning, who led Australia in 182 matches and was part of seven World Cup wins, has retired from international cricket. She is only 31.
An inspirational captain of an all-conquering Australian team, she is one of the greatest batters the women’s game has ever seen. Earlier this year, she won over new fans in India, leading Delhi Capitals to the final of the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League.
She has been retained by the franchise and is expected to return for the new season. She was the leading scorer of the tournament with 345 runs at an average of 49.28 and a strike-rate of 139.11.
That is a fair reflection of Lanning’s consistency as a batter. She averaged 53.51 in 103 ODIs, from which she amassed 4602 runs, with 15 hundreds. From her 132 T20Is, she made 3405 runs (average 36.61, strike-rate 116.37).
She made her international debut at 18 and in her second ODI, she scored an unbeaten 104 against England, becoming Australia’s youngest player to score a hundred. An accomplished batter, who is admired especially for her cut shot that invariably finds the gap, she has been described by Ian Bishop as one of the handful of players that would compel him to watch.
After Harmanpreet Kaur’s epic 171 not out knocked Australia out of the 2017 World Cup, Lanning was part of the leadership group that turned the side into one of the greatest of all time in any sport. Australia went on an incredible 26-game winning streak between 2018 and 2021.
Biju George was the fielding coach of the Indian team against which Australia began that great run. He then worked with Lanning at Delhi Capitals.
“She is the best captain I have ever worked with, male or female,” Biju told The Hindu. “And she is a marvellous person, too.”
