NEW DELHI: Meghann Moira Lanning is a superstar or, as she is often called, ‘Megastar’ of women’s cricket. She is a seven-times World Cup (ODI and T20I World Cups included) winner, five of them as a captain, and a Commonwealth Games gold medallist. From scoring the most number of hundreds in women’s cricket (17 tons) to hitting the fastest century in ODIs (off 45 balls), Lanning holds all kinds of batting records. She spoke to TOI in an exclusive interaction before the 2024
WPL
final and shared her thoughts on a range of topics, including her shocking retirement last year.
Excerpts…
What keeps you going and motivated after being at the top for more than a decade now?
I am a super competitive person. Winning is a lot better than losing, isn’t it? So I try to do as much as I can to help any team win. I also try to keep getting better all the time because people catch you up pretty quickly if you don’t do that. I just love playing the game no matter which team I am playing for.
You retired from international cricket last year. You’re just 31, why retire so early?
I guess I lost the real drive to have the commitment levels to play at the international stage. We were travelling a lot, I was spending a lot of time away from home, and to be part of that Australian team you need to be all in. I had an incredible career for a long period of time, had achieved probably everything I wanted to. When the commitment levels aren’t quite there, it was time to step back.
What are your future plans, besides playing in the WPL and all the other leagues?
I don’t have any specific plans, but I’ll stay involved in the game in some form or the other. But I am not going to rush into anything too quickly.
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You’re renowned for your captaincy, having won all titles women’s cricket has to offer. How would you describe your leadership style?
It (captaincy) has evolved over time. For me, it’s about allowing the players to feel confident and giving them that confidence to execute their skills. In T20 cricket, specially, you’re under the pump a lot, so that’s when you keep everybody calm. I make sure that we got a plan and then we just go out there and execute. For me, it’s all about those relationships and trust and connection and allowing people to feel comfortable in what they are trying to do on and off the field.
What kind of interaction do you have with the young Indian players like a Shafali (Verma) or Jemimah (Rodrigues)?
We chat a lot about game situations and how to tackle those. I try and encourage Shafali to play her own game, play to her strengths and do that for as long as she can because nobody can play the way she does. I just give her the confidence to back herself. She is great to bat with and talk to, she is keen to learn, she listens, she asks questions. All the Indian locals are keen to learn, and I get to learn as much from them. That’s the cool thing about a tournament like this (WPL). In DC, we have built that environment where people can talk about cricket as well as non-cricket and that kind of free environment helps us to perform better on the field as well.
What are your thoughts on the women’s game becoming more and more power-oriented?
It’s very exciting. That has been the evolution of the game. We’ve so much talent nowadays, in India as well as around the world. It’s a completely different game now to what it was five years ago. Different players have different strengths, some have power, some have finesse, so it’s pretty exciting to watch. Cricket is a sport that requires power and finesse both.
How has women’s cricket developed since the time you started playing?
The great thing is now young girls get involved in the game from a very young age. It’s important that the game keeps moving forward and tournaments like the WPL are doing a great job in that direction.
How did cricket happen to you?
For me, it started in the backyard of the school. We are five kids in our family, so plenty of opportunities to play against each other. That was my initial interaction with the sport. My dad was very much into cricket, so he would watch a lot on the TV. In school, we actually played a lot of competitive cricket. That’s pretty typical of the upbringing in Australia. That’s the lucky thing we’ve in Australia that you can get into any sport that you want to, and cricket is just one of them.
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Did you play some other sports too?
Yeah, hockey was my winter sport. That was lot of fun. I played a bit of AFL (Australian Football League) which is the football code over in Australia. I really didn’t mind what sort of sport it was, I just loved being outdoors, being active and running around.
Throw some light on the sporting culture in Australia…
Sport is massive in Australia. Everyone you know has played some sort of sport or is involved in the present. School plays a big role in developing that culture. During my time, I played a lot of my cricket with the boys. It’s pretty normal in Australia for girls to play some sport or the other.
If you hadn’t been a cricketer, what profession would you’ve chosen?
I don’t know…I did always want to go to the Olympics, that was one of my dreams. Though I gave a crack at hockey, I don’t think I was good enough. I don’t see myself being involved in anything else other than sports.
Growing up, which cricketer did you admire?
Ricky Ponting
was my idol. He batted at the No.3 position, just always looked like he had the game under control, loved watching him play and captain. I wanted to be like him.
Have you seen any standout Indian talent from the youngsters who’re playing in this WPL?
The local talent has improved significantly. In DC, we’ve Minnu (Mani) who is quite special. She puts a lot of revs on the ball. Aru (Arundhati Reddy) has been excellent too. That’s been the biggest shift, they’re improving all the time.
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