'I kept sliding': Former Aussie captain Meg Lanning opens up on health battles that prompted shock retirement

Former Australia captain Meg Lanning has revealed that her "unhealthy relationship" with food and exercise was the reason for her retirement last year, at the age of 31. Regarded as one of the greatest captains the sport has ever seen, Lanning said she was grappling with an identity crisis outside the cricketing arena.

Her exit from the international stage came as a shock to the entire cricketing fraternity. Even then, Lanning refused to divulge the real reason behind her decision and the battles she had been fighting.

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“It sort of just spiralled,” Lanning toldThe Howie Games podcast. “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 was over-exercising and under-fuelling. I got to the point where I was doing about 85-90km [running] a week. I was in denial," added Lanning.

Lanning said she started worrying about her post-cricket future and that it led to drastic weight loss.

“I got down to about 57kgs from 64kgs. The ratios were out of whack a lot. It was just all out of whack and I kept sliding. At some point, it’s got to stop. 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?’.”

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At my low...

Lanning said at her low, she only used to sleep two hours and dreaded night time which would make her even more angry at herself. Prior to the retirement announcement, Lanning had missed three international series, including the Women's Ashes.

"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. So the decision was made with me in conjunction with the medical team to miss that tour."

The Aussie said her journey back started with trying to get healthy but it was still an ongoing process. Lanning added that she wrestled with the idea of sharing her story given how intensely private she is in her life.

Finest Australian captain

As the captain, Lanning led Australia to a record five T20 World Cup titles, having assumed the role at the young age of 21. She captained the Australia women's team in 182 games - the third-most for the nation after Ricky Ponting's 323 and Allan Border's 271 across all formats.

She retired as Australia's women's highest run scorer in T20Is with 3,405 runs in 132 games at a strike rate of 116 and an average of 36.

(With inputs from agencies)