Meg Lanning, just 25 has reached such a great accomplishment as a cricketer. She was one of those girls who were inspired by legends like Brett Lee and Ricky Pointing, but today she is one of the most successful captain in international women’s cricket and a source of inspiration for majority of female cricketers. She inherited the passion for cricket from her family. Her father Wayne was a cricketer and her younger sister Anna Lanning always accompanied in the game, so momentum was always on her even at home. She openly revealed that her parents were the main source of motivation for her and that they were somebody she always looked up to more than anything else.
Meg Lanning made her international debut in a International T20 match against New Zealand in 2010. She made her one day international debut against England in 2011 and her test debut was also against England in 2013. She did not take much time in picking up the game and soon became the backbone of Australian women’s Cricket team. She was named Australia’s captain in 2014 and since then she had led her team to international wins. Not only international cricket but her domestic cricket performances are also quite impressive. She scored 127 runs off 123 balls against Queensland Fire while playing for Victoria. 2011-2012 was the best domestic session for her when her batting average was 37.36 in T20 matches. She scored 241 not out off 136 balls for box Hill cricket club, the highest individual score in women’s first class Cricket. In November of 2012, she broke the record of highest individual score in women’s international league. It was her extra ordinary form that she got Sharen Tredea trophy and Fitzpatrick award. Not only that, she was also named as women’s T20 player of the year for the Victorian spirit. She was the women’s national Cricket league T20 player of the year.
Meg is an interesting captain and the passionate cricketer who leads Australian women’s Cricket team in such an impressive way. Her individual contribution and performances for team makes her loved figure in Aussies and in world’s cricketing circles. And why not, she made her country proud when she was named as women T20 Cricketer of the year and women ODI cricketer of the year in 2014 and 2015 respectively. Although, she played only 3 test matches and scored 107 runs with the average of 17.83 because her test career was so short as she announced retirement after 2 year of her debut test. But Lanning’s ODI career is a continuous story of success and some amazing performances for her team. So far, she has represented Australian women’s Cricket team in 57 one day international matches and scored 2671 runs with the impressive batting average of 52.37.
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She stands on the top position when it comes to most number of centuries by any women Cricketer as she scored 10 centuries in women one day international matches. Lanning’s T20 career is also full of successes and a great reflection of her passionate approach towards game. In 70 women T20 matches, Lanning scored 1930 runs so far with the batting average of 31.63. On 27th March 2014, in a match against Ireland in ICC women’s T20 world cup, Lanning played a stunning inning when she scored 126 runs in 65 balls. This is the highest individual inning score in women’s international T20 matches. She led team to a dominating position in international women’s Cricket in such a short time.
Talking about her planning on field against opponents ,she said,”it is all about giving nothing away and working on your shot and telling your opponents with your body language that you own the pitch.” Meg Lanning is a living legend and a great player of Australian women’s cricket team as she proved her greatness by her records and performances. It is perfectly okay to say that without any doubt she is not only one of the finest Cricketer right now but also a great source of inspiration for those young girls all over the world who are passionate about cricket.