New Delhi, Nov 7 Australia great Meg Lanning believes young opener Phoebe Litchfield has the potential to outshine a strong group of contenders and succeed Alyssa Healy as the next Australian ODI captain.
Healy, who took over the role from Lanning following the two-time ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup winner’s retirement from international cricket at the end of 2023, is now 35 and gradually nearing the twilight of her career.
Lanning spoke in depth about Australia's recent Cricket World Cup campaign with host Nikhil Uttamchandani on the most recent episode of The ICC Review, and she acknowledged the long list of potential candidates the Aussies have at their disposal, who could take over from Healy in the future.
While current vice-captain Tahlia McGrath, world No.1 all-rounder Ash Gardner, and emerging talent Annabel Sutherland all possess impressive leadership qualities, Lanning believes Litchfield has the edge and could ultimately take over the captaincy once Healy decides to step down.
"I think all of those that you mentioned are certainly in the running," Lanning noted.
"I'd add Phoebe Litchfield into the mix because I think she's got a very level head on her shoulders.
"She's already shown that she's come in and settled herself nicely into the team. And I think she's got a really good temperament too. So I think she's certainly an option."
Although Litchfield has only 67 international matches to her name, she’s no stranger to leadership — having captained the Sydney Thunder in the WBBL. Lanning believes the 22-year-old’s experience and perspective could inject a fresh and dynamic voice into the Australian setup.
"The good thing with the team is that there are a number of different leaders that could come into that role whenever Healy finishes up," Lanning said.
"I think it's exciting in some ways whenever that transition does happen. It'll bring something different to the team and they'll have their own spin on what they want to do and their own leadership style and I think that could be really cool for the group.
"So I am going to go for her (Litchfield)."
Lanning revealed she has reached out to several former teammates following Australia’s heartbreaking semi-final exit to India at the World Cup and plans to reconnect with players such as pacer Kim Garth and all-rounder Annabel Sutherland when the new WBBL season kicks off later this month.
The former captain noted that the players she’s spoken with are still feeling the sting of the loss, and said it may be a while before a full review of the campaign takes place.
"I've spoken with a few of the girls and they are obviously very disappointed in the result that's not what they went over to India to do," Lanning said.
"Sort of understanding that there's a lot of good teams out there now and that they gave it their all and sometimes you don't get the result that you want.
"There's always things you look back and think maybe you can do differently or improve. And I guess when you don't get the result that you want, it probably makes you really look at things that you might need to do differently. So I'm sure they'll reflect on that as time goes on. It's not really the time to do it straight after the event. I think it's nice to take a little bit of time, which I'm sure they'll do.
"But they had a very good tournament up until that point and even the semi-final, they played well. Just unfortunately not good enough to get over the line. That's the game and we sort of move on and I'm sure they'll get another chance to improve and get better when the next series comes around."
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