Who should be Alyssa Healy's successor? Meg Lanning opines
What's the story
Former Australian women's cricket team captain Meg Lanning has backed young opener Phoebe Litchfield as a potential successor to Alyssa Healy. Healy took over the top job from Lanning after her retirement at the end of 2023. Now, with Healy nearing the end of her career, Lanning believes that Litchfield could be a strong candidate for the role. Here are further details.
Leadership potential
Lanning acknowledges other leadership options
In a recent episode of The ICC Review, Lanning acknowledged the strong leadership qualities of current vice-captain Tahlia McGrath, top-ranked all-rounder Ash Gardner, and rising star Annabel Sutherland. However, she believes that Litchfield's temperament and level-headedness make her a strong contender for the captaincy once Healy decides to retire from international cricket.
Captaincy experience
Litchfield has previous captaincy experience
Despite having just 67 international appearances under her belt, Litchfield has previous captaincy experience with Sydney Thunder in Australia's domestic WBBL competition. Lanning believes the 22-year-old could bring a fresh voice to the team. She 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."
Stats
Here are her numbers
Across 36 WODIs, the Aussie batter has smashed 1,287 runs at an average of 41.51. Her tally includes eight half-centuries besides seven tons. 136 of her runs have come in four Test matches at 22.66. In WT20Is, she has racked up 440 runs at 31.42 with the help of two fifties. At 22 years and 195 days, Litchfield recently became the youngest to score a century in a Women's World Cup knockout match.