Australian cricket’s most decorated captain Meg Lanning has revealed the unhealthy relationship with food and exercise that led to her retirement from international cricket aged just 32.
In an interview for the Howie Games podcast, Lanning opened up for the first time about a private struggle she did not share with teammates nor even family for long periods, even though her weight loss from “over exercising and under fuelling” was visible to many.
Lanning played in seven winning World Cup campaigns and was captain for six. She first took a break from the game following the team’s gold medal in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. She then returned for yet another World Cup triumph – in South Africa early last year – before withdrawing from the squad for the 2023 Ashes tour and finally announcing her international retirement late last year.
“I was over exercising and under fuelling. I got to the point where I was doing about 85-90km a week. I was in denial. It became a bit of ‘I am going to show you’ sort of thing,” Lanning told Mark Howard. “It sort of just spiralled. 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.
“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. I got down to 57kg from 64kg. It wasn’t ridiculous [but it was] significant. The ratios were out of whack. I did not realise [it affected] my ability to concentrate. I didn’t really want to see other people. I disengaged a lot from friends and family.”
“It [running] became a bit of an obsession. I could escape mentally. I would throw the headphones in but would not take my phone with me. I would have my Apple watch with me and listen to music. Nobody could contact me.”
Meg Lanning announces her retirement at the MCG in November.Credit: Getty
Asked whether she had an eating disorder, Lanning replied: “It was not labelled that but I 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?
“How could I not want to travel the world and play cricket? That doesn’t make any sense.”
