Meg Lanning, the captain of the Australian women’s cricket team, quit international cricket on Thursday. She was one of the game’s best leaders and makers of runs.
The 31-year-old top-order batter scored a lot of runs and helped Australia win four Twenty20 World Cups, one 50-over World Cup, and a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games. She was called “Megastar” because of her success.
It was “right time to move on to something new” for Lanning, who had been captain of her country 182 times during 13 years of international cricket.
“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 stated in a statement.
Nick Hockley, CEO of Cricket Australia, called her “one of the finest cricketers Australia has produced” and “one of the best players in the world for a long time.”
“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,” he said.
Cricket Australia says that Lanning has scored more one-day hundreds than any other woman and is the team’s leading run maker.
Lanning led Australia to 26 straight wins in one-day games from 2018 to 2021, which is still the record for the longest winning streak in that type of game.
Lanning was also very important in bringing attention to the pay gap between men’s and women’s professional cricket off the game.
A six-month break to “focus on myself” led her back to the Australian team in January. This was just days after winning gold at the Commonwealth Games in August 2022.
As soon as she got back to Australia, she led her team to win at the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa and to the final of the first Women’s Premier League in India.
Cricket Australia said that Lanning will keep playing in local games.