Meg Lanning reveals reason behind sudden international retirement in 2023

Meg Lanning, Australia’s former captain, unveiled the reason behind her surprise decision to retire from international cricket last year. Then 31 years old and skipper of an all conquering side, Lanning bid adieu to a 13 year career .

Lanning said the decision was brought on by an unhealthy “obsession” with food and exercise. She added that it resulted in her pushing away people close to her and acknowledged it wasn’t the right mindset to play professional sport.

Lanning captained Australia to four T20 World Cup titles, one ODI World Cup triumph, and a Commonwealth Games gold medal before stepping away. She aggregated 4,602 runs in the ODIs at an average of 53.51 in 103 matches. She amassed 3,405 runs in the T20Is (from 132 games) and collected 365 runs in the Test format.

But behind the star batter’s cool exterior she says that she was struggling.

Read: Meg Lanning’s achievements

Lanning told an Australian cricket podcast that to escape the pressures she began running up to 90 kilometres a week, but did not eat enough to fuel her “obsession”.

She said she lost significant weight, struggled to sleep, became moody and withdrew from close ones.

“I was over-exercising and under-fuelling,” said Lanning, who earned the nickname “Megastar” for her run-scoring exploits.

“It sort of just spiralled and I was in denial, even though everyone kept telling me something wasn’t quite right.

“I was not in a place to be able to go on tour and play cricket and give the commitment levels required for that Ashes series (in 2023) mentally and physically.”

Lanning, who has continued playing in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) and the Women’s Premier League (WPL), declined to label the problem an eating disorder.

Nicknamed the ‘Megastar’, she did eventually seek help after it began affecting her life.

“I am naturally fine spending time with myself but there were very few people who I would want to engage with. I would get really snappy, real moody, if anyone asked anything,” she said.

“I disengaged a lot from friends and family. I didn’t realise that I was doing this. It sort of became a new normal.”

With the demands of being captain and touring the world a thing of the past, Lanning said she was now “in a good spot”.

“I’ve really started to understand how actually talking to people and letting people know can actually help,” she said.