By Liam Warren
AUSTRALIA women’s captain Meg Lanning has decided to bring her astonishing 13-year international career to an end, stating that she “doesn’t have the spark to do what needs to happen at this level” anymore.
In her time as captain of her country, Lanning led Australia to a 50-over World Cup triumph last year and also boasts four T20 World Cup titles to cap off a successful career.
The 31-year-old is also the second-highest run-scorer in the history of women’s T20 internationals.
Lanning made her debut for Australia 13 years ago in 2010 aged just 18 years, where she instantly made an impact and showed promise from the outset.
This was evident when she scored an unbeaten century against England in the one-day format, scoring 103 not out. This earned her the honour of being the youngest Australian to score a hundred.
Australia would win the T20 World Cup in 2012 and the 50-over World Cup in 2013, the first two major honours of Lanning’s international career.
The biggest individual honour of any Australian cricketer was then thrust upon her in 2014 – she became captain at the age of 21, a role she would hold onto for 182 out of her 241 appearances.
Lanning was a run-machine in her pomp which ultimately led to an impressive career record of 8,352 runs across all three formats of the game, with 17 centuries.
She missed her side’s Ashes tour of England for medical reasons.
Speaking on her decision to retire from duties with her nation, Lanning spoke of her motivation levels:
“I feel like now I’ve got nothing left to achieve on the international stage.
“I no longer have the spark or motivation to do what needs to happen at this level and so for me it’s time to move on.
“I can’t be half-in or half-out with anything and I guess that’s where I’ve landed with this decision.
“I’ve achieved so much within the game and been lucky enough to have such a successful career and be part of very successful teams.
“It’s been my life essentially for 13 years, and I know nothing other than that.
“I’ve learned so much and had so many incredible opportunities to do that, and I’m sad that it’s finishing up but I’m ready for something new.
“It’s time to move on and go on and experience other things other than playing cricket, which I’m really excited about.”
