Is Meg Lanning the greatest cricket captain? Five World Cup titles, CWG gold medal in 9-year tenure

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Australia Women's captain Meg Lanning is just 30-year-old but she has already gone past the likes of legendary captains Ricky Ponting and MS Dhoni. After Australia beat South Africa by 19 runs in the final of Women's T20 World Cup on Sunday, Lanning became the captain to win the most number of ICC major trophies.

It was Lanning's fifth World Cup (for T20 World Cup and one 50-over World Cup) title as a captain. Ricky Ponting won four (two 50-over World Cup and two Champions Trophy) during his stellar tenure as the captain of Australian men's cricket team. MS Dhoni won three ICC titles for India (one T20 World Cup, one 50-over World Cup and one Champions Trophy). He is the only captain in history to win all three major ICC trophies.

However, Lanning is in the league of his own. She is the only cricket captain in history to make her team hold the 50-over World Cup, T20 World Cup and Commonwealth Games gold medal title at the same time. The last 12 months have seen her lead Australia to a 50-over World Cup win, a Commonwealth gold medal title and now a T20 World Cup triumph. The Singapore-born star is the only captain in history to win a hat-trick of T20 World Cup titles. Also, out of the six T20 World Cup titles Australia Women have won, Lanning has led the team four times.

Lanning took a six-month break from cricket after the CWG 2022 triumph and many believed that could be the end of her glorious career. But she returned to lead her team in January 2023 and thrived like none other. Pakistan were whitewashed 3-0 in the ODIs and a similar scoreline was on cards in the T20Is but rain saved Pakistan as the third match was abandoned.

The right-hand batter has been leading a team driven by culture "where egos are checked" and the team is placed above an individual player for a "greater good".

Beth Mooney's views on Lanning after the win over South Africa in Cape Town clearly explained that 'the megastar' is respected by her players and is a role model for many.

"I think she’s got an immense cricket brain. She’s cool, calm and collected under pressure and she’s got empathy as well; she understands how people feel in certain situations because she’s been there before and she’s experienced a lot as a person, as a leader and as a cricketer. “So absolutely she’ll go down as one of the greatest ever for our team and we’re very lucky to have her," Mooney said.

Meg Lanning's career highlights

• Lanning made her debut as a teenager in December 2010 in a T20I match against New Zealand Women at Nelson

• The top-order batter made her ODI debut a month later against England Women in Perth.

• She slammed a hundred in just her second ODI.

• In December 2012, Lanning slammed a 45-ball ODI hundred against New Zealand Women. It's the fastest hundred by an Australian batter till date.

• In January 2014, Lanning became Australia's youngest-ever captain. She stood in for an injured Jodie Field during the Ashes, and a month later was appointed full-time captain of the T20I side.

• Lanning led Australia Women to victory in the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh later the same year.

• She assumed the Test and ODI captaincies in 2015, helping Australia win back the Women's Ashes for the first time since 2001.

• Meg Lanning holds the record for most hundreds (15) in women's ODI.

• Her tally of 4602 runs is the eighth highest in the history of women's ODI cricket.

• Lanning has also scored the second-highest number of runs (3405) in women's T20I cricket.

• Her two hundreds in T20Is is the joint second-highest in women's cricket.