Two years on from her shock international retirement, Meg Lanning has revealed how striking the perfect balance has reignited her game this WBBL season
Balance, hunger: How Lanning is levelling up in WBBL|11
Meg Lanning has a different vibe about her this Big Bash season.
Her teammates have noticed it, and if her rivals hadn't, they certainly will have after her blazing century against the Sydney Sixers on Thursday night.
Off field, the former Aussie skipper is relaxed and lapping up the less intense schedule that comes with life post-international cricket.
On field, she's locked in, levelling up and determined to dominate.
On Thursday, Lanning revealed how she is continuing to evolve her game, having finally nailed the approach she needs to unlock her free-flowing best two years on from her shock international retirement.
The 33-year-old produced one of the all-time great WBBL innings on Thursday night, hammering a 74-ball 135 against the Sixers at North Sydney Oval.
It continued a rich run for right-hander in WBBL|11, who sits on top of the runs table with 288 runs at a strike rate of 163.63, following scores of 60, 90no, 3 and 135.
"I want to dominate," Lanning said on Thursday.
"I felt like if I wanted to do that then I had to evolve and add a few things so I could get it back on my terms.
"There are a few subtle changes, but a lot of it is around mindset as well.
"It's just trying to be a bit more aggressive and take the game on, throw a few different things at the bowlers rather than standing there waiting for it to happen.
"What I found is if you do that, things happen for you."
In recent months, Lanning has been working closely with Glenn Maxwell, who has been involved with the WBBL side as an assistant coach.
Speaking earlier this season, the 33-year-old revealed it had taken her time to find the right balance following her international retirement.
Initially, burnt out from 13 years playing at the highest level, Lanning had little appetite for training or working on her game.
"When I first retired, I was like, 'Oh, I don't have to train, I'll just go out and whack them and it'll be fine'," Lanning revealed while mic'd up during the Melbourne derby.
"That doesn't work, you do need to train a little bit.
"I feel like I've got good rhythm with that, and then I get some time to do other stuff which is nice.
"Playing international cricket and doing well requires a full-time commitment.
"You make a lot of decisions based around that and I did that for a long time, but it takes a lot of mental energy as well.
"Being able to play franchise cricket, I can still do the playing part, which is something I really enjoy, but it's not a full-time thing."
With space and time now at her disposal, and having relinquished captaincy duties in the majority of competitions she features in, Lanning has rediscovered that drive to continue dominating the world's top bowlers, 17 years on from her state debut for Victoria.
Lanning has remained a Victoria-contracted player since her Australian retirement, which means that, unlike some other franchise-freelancers in the women's game, she is involved in an elite training environment year-round.
Mixing up the Women's National Cricket League with appearances in the WBBL, The Hundred and the WPL is still a big shift away from the lifestyle of a full-time international player – one that Lanning lived for more than a decade.
"I think it's taken me a little while to find the right balance," Lanning said following the Stars' win over Perth Scorchers.
"I feel like I've got a good idea of how much I need to train now to get myself prepared and ready.
"I feel like I'm starting to find that freedom now, which I probably wanted straight away … I'm certainly enjoying myself."
That enjoyment appears to be paying off.
Lanning was the second highest run scorer in The Hundred in August, scoring 287 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 136.66 for Oval Invincibles, and she has carried that form into WBBL|11.
"I have actually really enjoyed that challenge (of evolving), it keeps me interested at training, and gives me a task to try new shots and different things," Lanning said on Thursday.
"Whether it is moving around your crease or trying to hit to a different area of the ground.
"I know how to stand there and hit a cover drive, but I want to work on is trying to get the ball to different areas and try and manipulate the field a little bit more."
The ease and enjoyment has been noted by her Stars teammates, with Maisy Gibson remarking after the Melbourne derby: "She's really walked out with this different vibe about her ... she means business all the time (on field), and then when she's off the field, she's very relaxed, and she's been really cool to be around."
Lanning's century against the Sixers invited memories of two of her more remarkable efforts in the green and gold.
The first of those, which also took place at North Sydney Oval, was the 45-ball hundred she smashed against New Zealand in an ODI in 2012.
The second was her 133no in the first T20I against England in Chelmsford during the 2019 Ashes, a score that stood as her personal best in a 20-over game until Thursday.
"Once I got in the rhythm, I was just hunting boundaries and could read where they were going to bowl it and I was able to execute the shot I wanted to," Lanning said of Thursday's innings.
"(Those days) don't happen often, so it was nice to be able to cash in ... Everything you think is going to happen, happens."
Lanning, who played her 100th WBBL game earlier this season, enjoyed a decorated career in the green and gold that included two ODI World Cup triumphs and six T20 World Cup wins alongside Commonwealth Games gold.
However she has not enjoyed the same success with the Stars, having played finals just once in six previous seasons with the club. That runners-up finish in 2020 was also the only occasion the Stars have made the WBBL top four in the competition's history.
Needing a change in fortunes after finishing on the bottom of the table last season, Lanning hopes fresh faces this season including England stars Amy Jones and Dani Gibson could be the key.
"We've got a really nice squad together, some really great internationals coming in who give us some really good options and some good experience as well," Lanning said prior to the start of the season.
"We feel like we've got all bases covered, we've recruited really smartly, we identified what we needed and gaps within the squad and I think we filled them really nicely.
"We've got a good mix of youth and experience.
"(Winning the WBBL) is certainly something I'd love to do.
"No matter what team I'm in, I want to contribute and I want that team to be successful."
Weber WBBL|11 Standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
HUR
|
10 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.662 | 0 | 15 |
|
2
SIX
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | -0.313 | 0 | 13 |
|
3
SCO
|
10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | -0.132 | 0 | 12 |
|
4
STA
|
10 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0.629 | 0 | 11 |
|
5
REN
|
10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.121 | 0 | 10 |
|
6
STR
|
10 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0.077 | 0 | 9 |
|
7
THU
|
10 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | -0.124 | 0 | 9 |
|
8
HEA
|
10 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | -0.869 | 0 | 1 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points