Lanning wins major Wisden award

Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars captain Meg Lanning has been named the inaugural Leading Woman Cricketer in the World by the iconic Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack.

In its 151st year, 2015 marks the first time the English cricket magazine has had a designated women’s award, with Wisden Editor Lawrence Booth lauding the performances of the Australian superstar.

“Meg was the natural choice for Wisden’s inaugural award,” Booth said.

“She’s a genuine star, and I’d be surprised if her name doesn’t feature regularly on our list of winners in the years ahead.”

Lanning had an exemplary 2014 in the green and gold, tallying 490 runs at an average of 49.90 in one-day international cricket and a peerless 625 runs at 52.08 with a strike-rate of 145.34 in Twenty20 internationals.

Those runs broke the record for the most women’s T20 international runs in a calendar year, surpassing Englishwoman Sarah Taylor’s 616 in 2012.

Lanning also became the youngest ever Australia captain – male or female – when she took over from Jodie Fields in 2014 at just 21 years of age.

Lanning hit a world-record 126 against Ireland in Bangladesh

She went on to lead the Southern Stars to a third-successive Women’s World T20 crown in Bangladesh as well as series sweeps over Pakistan and world No.2 West Indies at home.

“I am incredibly honoured and humbled to receive this award,” Lanning said, “particularly being the first female to be recognised by Wisden in this way.”

“I never dreamt that my name would one day be included in the Almanack but now that it has, I hope this is the beginning of a long tradition of female cricketers to receive such an honour.

“It’s been a big 12 months of cricket for the Australian team.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed the extra challenges that have come with captaincy and have been particularly buoyed by the support I’ve received from my teammates.

“Together we have achieved great things.

“I want to thank everyone for their support, especially my family and teammates. This is something I will look back on with great pride when I finish my career.”

Lanning took home the top going in Australian women's cricket earlier this year

Lanning also took home the Belinda Clark Award as Australia’s top female international cricketer at this year’s Allan Border Medal night – capping off a meteoric four years that saw her make her Southern Stars debut at 18 and feature in a Women’s World Cup triumph and three Women’s WT20 victories.

“On behalf of everyone in Australian cricket I’d like to congratulate Meg on her wonderful achievement,” Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said.

“In her role as captain, Meg continues to be an outstanding role model and is doing an excellent job promoting cricket as a sport of choice for talented female sportspeople across the nation.

“We are incredibly proud of Meg and the excellent job she is doing in inspiring the next generation of players across the country.”

The inaugural female cricket award will form the cornerstone of Wisden’s newest section dedicated to the women’s game – with reports from every international match included from the 2015 edition onwards.

The 22-year-old's century in Bowral was a 2014 major highlight

Joining Lanning in the Almanack are the magazine’s Five Cricketers of the Year – England’s Moeen Ali and Gary Ballance, Yorkshire opening batsman Adam Lyth, Sri Lankan captain Angelo Matthews and New Zealand and Warwickshire off-spinner Jeetan Patel.

Retired Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsmen Kumar Sangakkara rounds out the awards, with the 37-year-old named the Leading Cricketer in the World.