Australian all-format skipper, Meg Lanning, is currently on an indefinite break to have time away from the game citing personal reasons. The decision from Meg Lanning had come days after she’d added a feather more to her decorated crown of wins at global tournaments.
Meg Lanning, 30, is one of Australia’s and cricket’s great who’s led her side to many ICC trophy wins and over the last two-and-a-half years she’s helped Australia win a couple of T20I World Cups, an ODI World Cup, a home Ashes series and the most recent being Australia finishing on the top of the podium clinching Gold at the Commonwealth Games.
Meg Lanning in her statement said, “After a busy couple of years, I’ve made the decision to take a step back to enable me to spend time focusing on myself. I’m grateful for the support of CA and my teammates and ask that my privacy is respected during this time.”
Speculations around Meg Lanning’s return to cricket were pointing towards the India series that’s scheduled for later this year or the upcoming, 8th edition of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), but the air around the buzz has been cleared as a report from Daniel Brettig in The Age and The Sydney Morning read, “Lanning set to miss WBBL, no guarantee to return at all.”
It’s understood that sources close to Lanning indicated to The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald that one possible scenario is that the 30-year-old may decide on reflection that she does not miss the professional game enough to resume her career and another option is that Meg Lanning returns as a player only.
WBBL 2022 starts on the 15th October won’t see Meg Lanning taking part this season.#CricketTwitter #WBBL08 pic.twitter.com/dFAUPB3RON
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) September 26, 2022
Meg Lanning earlier this year said, “It’s probably not something I’ve given a lot of thought to. I don’t know how long I’ll play for. It could be two years, it could be five, it could be 10 but, for me, I’ve always tried to focus on what I know is coming up and more the short term than anything else.”
Australia’s newly appointed head coach, Shelley Nitschke, last week on Meg Lanning commented, “Meg is having a break from the game and we are giving her that space. When the time is right we’ll have those conversations about whether she is back in December or whenever it might be.”
She in 100 ODIs has scored 4463 runs and has got to the highest score of 152*, in the shortest format of the games she’s again placed over 100 games (124) and has got to 3211 runs with her highest being 133*. The little Test Cricket has seen of her, it has been an impressive one as she has got to 345 runs in 12 innings with the highest score of 93 to her name. Overall in her career, she’s got 17 centuries and as many as 36 half-centuries etched on her profile.
Meg Lanning’s franchise at the Big Bash, Melbourne Stars’ general manager, Blair Crouch said, “We’re fully supportive of Meg’s desire to have a break from cricket, and we will give her all the time, support and space she needs.”
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