Meg Lanning

Meghan Moira Lanning, nicknamed Megastar, is the most successful Australian captain with five World Cups to her name. She is a top-order batter who has taken the Australian Women’s to some incredible heights. She came into the Australian setup as an 18-year-old teenager and hasn't dropped a single beat since then. 

Born in Singapore, a 16-year-old Lanning made her domestic debut for Victoria in 2008, soon establishing her at top of the order. However, her breakthrough season came during 2011-12 when she earned the Sharon Tredrea Trophy, the Cathryn Fitzpatrick Award, and the Women's T20 Player of the Year; for her impeccable performances across all formats.

Lanning first emerged on the international scene in the shortest format, back in December 2010, against New Zealand. A week later, she was handed her maiden ODI cap against England. However, the Singapore-born smashed her maiden international century in her very second ODI outing. She was also part of the title-winning team during the 2012 World T20, where she ended as the third-highest run-getter. 

The following year, the top-order batter got her baggy green during the Ashes Test at Wormsley. Later that year, she played a vital role when Australia lifted their maiden World Cup in 2013, where her century against New Zealand was regarded as one of the kind. In January 2014, she was given the reign of the Australian team to become the youngest Australian captain, at a mere age of 21 years.

As her career progressed, the Singaporian started getting lauded for her tactical captaincy, while her batting too got a notch higher. In 2015, the Australian skipper was handed the captaincy of Melbourne Stars for the inaugural season of the WBBL. 

When Lanning’s leadership graph was booming upwards, her career saw an extreme low. Under her leadership, Australia lost the World T20 final against West Indies in 2016, before facing the Harmanpreet Kaur assault in the semifinal of the 2017 World Cup. In 2017, Lanning was hit with a shoulder injury that ruled her out of cricket for a long time. 

The Australian skipper, who is well-known for inspiring, inspired everyone with a solid comeback and then led Australia to two consecutive World T20 titles in 2018 and 2020. The latter title was the most celebrated moment in the history of Women’s sports as it was attended by 86000 people at the MCG.

(As of March 2021)