‘It hasn’t sunk in’: Meg Lanning opens up on life after her international retirement, CA plans special tribute for her and Rachael Haynes in Adelaide

She’s averaging 106 playing domestic cricket but Meg Lanning is enjoying her retirement from the Australian team.

Former Australian skipper Meg Lanning says her retirement from international cricket “hasn’t sunk in yet” as the seven-time World Cup winner prepares to be celebrated alongside former vice-captain Rachael Haynes at the Adelaide Oval this weekend.

Lanning shocked the world last November when she announced her immediate retirement from international cricket, ending 13 outstanding years in green and gold.

It came after she missed the Ashes tour due to an undisclosed medical issue, with Australia’s most prolific run-scorer across all formats calling it quits having won three Belinda Clark Awards.

The Australian public hasn’t had the chance to honour her properly since she retired, and Lanning herself says she wants to say goodbye and thank the people who have supported her throughout her career.

Meg Lanning and Rachael Haynes will be recognised for all their achievements. Picture: Phil Walter-ICC/ICC via Getty Images

She’ll get the chance on Saturday during the first ODI against South Africa where she and Haynes will be recognised for their on-field achievements, leadership and impact on the women’s game.

The magnitude of her decision and what she achieved in the sport hasn’t hit home just yet for Lanning, who is still dominating in the WNCL, averaging a staggering 106 for Victoria in the one-day competition.

“It’s a bit strange because I’m still playing, so until I stop playing completely, it probably won’t sink in,” she said, adding she’s found a “pretty good balance” between work and life.

“It’s been a different last couple of months with a little bit more time to spend with friends and family and to take stock a little bit.

“I’ve enjoyed that because it was a pretty hectic period of time for me.

“I loved every moment of it, I put everything into my career and it got to the point where I didn’t have too much energy to give to that.

Lanning has been in sparkling form for Victoria. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

“The commitment levels that are required to play within that Australian team are significant, and I guess I didn’t have that anymore so I stepped away and have a bit more time to focus on other things, and that’s been nice.

“Over the next couple of months when it is a little bit quieter, I might properly look back at the key moments and the special times that I achieved.”

Like so many other leaders, Lanning has enjoyed steering clear of the spotlight, but she won’t get the chance on Saturday with Cricket Australia organising a lap around the ground, a guard of honour and presentation at the innings break.

She’ll have Haynes with her every step of the way as the Adelaide faithful get the chance to celebrate two of Australia’s greatest cricketers.

“It’ll be nice to have Rach there with me because I don’t think either of us want the spotlight too much,” Lanning said.

“We worked really hard together over a period of time to build the culture within the team and tried to lead the group as much as we could.”

Grace Harris and Ashleigh Gardner helped Australia home in the third T20. Picture: Steve Bell/Getty Images

Lanning’s form since announcing her retirement has led to calls for her to reconsider, and those would have only grown louder if the Aussies had lost the T20 series against South Africa.

The hosts bounced back to seal a 2-1 result that has given them a strong lead in the multi-format series, but Lanning admits she didn’t catch a minute of the action.

“I know the results – it’s pretty hard to escape that – but I haven’t watched any of it,” she said.

“I’m actually not a massive watcher of cricket.

“I keep in contact with a few of the girls so that’s nice, but I’ve let that series play out, so this will be the first game that I’ve watched in a while out here on Saturday.

“South Africa are really good opposition and they’re improving all the time. They’ve got some really dangerous players, so it’ll be a fair contest.”