Australian cricket legend Meg Lanning has revealed the “unhealthy relationship” she had with food and exercise that ultimately led to her unexpected retirement from international cricket last year.
In November 2023, at 31 years old, the former captain for the national cricket team announced she would no longer play international cricket.
The news shocked Australians and fans of the game, but Lanning has now opened up about what pushed her to that decision in an interview on The Howie Games podcast.
Speaking with sports broadcaster Mark Howard in the latest podcast episode, Lanning explained how she was “over exercising and under fuelling” her body while she was playing cricket, which resulted in her extended break from the game in 2022 and her last minute withdrawal from the Ashes series in 2023.
While her training regime meant she clocked up about 90km of running a week, Lanning said she would eat just two “not significant” meals a day. Her “out of whack” eating and exercise ratios meant she dropped from weighing 64kgs to 57kgs.
“It sort of just spiralled,” Lanning said.
“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, mentally and physically.”
Lanning said her “obsession” with food and exercise made her withdraw and disengage from her friends, family and teammates.
“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.
Lanning also opened up about how she struggled to sleep at night, which made her “so mad” with herself.
“I dreaded night time because I knew I would go to bed and not be able to sleep,” Lanning said.
“That would make me so mad. I would just get angry with myself. If you can’t sleep, you can’t do anything.”
While Lanning said she was never diagnosed with an eating disorder, she acknowledged she was “exercising a lot but not eating enough to fuel that”.
“I was a bit out of whack. I felt very out of control in terms of what my future looked like. If it’s not cricket what does life look like if I am not playing?”
Meg Lanning is one of Australia’s greatest cricket players. She debuted for the Australian cricket team when she was just 18.
Lanning has racked up seven world titles in her 13-year international career. Five of those titles were won while she captained the side, a role she commenced when she was 21.
Under her captaincy, the Australian women’s cricket team won 80 per cent of their games and 26 One Day International (ODI) matches in a row over a three-year period from 2018.
Lanning took an extended break from cricket in 2022 – moving overseas and later working in a cafe in Melbourne – before returning to the game and leading Australia to a Commonwealth Games gold medal in Birmingham 2022.
She also captained the side as they won the T20 World Cup in South Africa in February 2023. However, she withdrew from the Ashes series in England just weeks before.
Lanning’s retirement in November last year came as a shock for many, but she told reporters she felt it was the right decision.
“The decision to step away from international cricket was a difficult one to make, but I feel now is the right time,” she said when announcing her retirement.
“I’ve been incredibly fortunate to enjoy a 13-year international career, but I know now is the right time for me to move on to something new.”