Australia women’s captain Meg Lanning has announced she will take a period of indefinite leave, effective immediately.
Lanning’s decision to take time away from cricket, with no fixed date for her return, comes with the full support of Cricket Australia.
In a written statement, Lanning 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.”
Lanning, who has just completed another successful campaign with Australia – winning a Commonwealth Games gold medal in Birmingham – stepped back from the game after a busy two-and-a-half year period in which her side also won both the T20I and ODI World Cups, as well as a home Ashes series.
The 30-year-old batter debuted in December 2010 and established herself as the premier batter in women’s ODI cricket. Since taking on the captaincy in January 2014, she has led Australia 171 times
