Lanning backs 22-year-old hitter to replace Healy as Australian ODI skipper

Melbourne [Australia], November 7 (ANI): Former Australian captain and multi-time World Cup winning legend Meg Lanning backed a young opening batter Phoebe Litchfield to take over the reins from Alyssa Healy as the next Women's ODI team captain, pointing out her "very level head on shoulders" and "good temperament".

Healy, who succeeded the two-time Women's 50-over World Cup-winning star Lanning after she announced her international retirement at the end of 2023, led the seven-time champions to a semifinal finish. They lost to India in a high-scoring semifinal last month, where a classic knock from Jemimah Rodrigues helped India knock off a record-breaking 339 runs.

After her team's exit, Healy confirmed during the post-match presentation that, now at 35 years of age, this was her last ODI World Cup, saying, " I would not be there!" while speaking about playing the next edition of the tournament. She is the Aussies' fifth-highest ODI run-getter with 3,563 runs at an average of 35.98 in 123 matches, with seven centuries and 18 fifties in 111 innings and a best score of 170.

Speaking on the recent episode of The ICC Review, Lanning took a look at a potential list of candidates for ODI captaincy, saying that while the vice-captain Tahlia McGrath, world number one all-rounder Ash Gardner and Annabel Sutherland have immense leadership potential and qualities, she would like to add Litchfield to the mix.

"I think all of those that you mentioned are certainly in the running," Lanning noted as quoted by ICC.

"I would add Phoebe Litchfield into the mix because I think she's got a very level head on her shoulders.

"She has already shown that she has come in and settled herself nicely into the team. And I think she has got a really good temperament too. So I think she certainly is an option," she concluded.

In 36 ODIs since her debut in 2023, Litchfield has scored 1,287 runs at an average of 41.51 and a strike rate of 88.39, with three centuries and eight fifties in 35 innings, with the best score of 119. She was the fifth-highest run-getter in the ICC Women's WC this year, scoring 304 runs in seven matches at an average of 50.66 and a strike rate of 112.66, including a 119 against India in the semis and a half-century.

Litchfield has some captaincy experience under her belt, being the captain of Sydney Thunder in the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL), and Lanning feels that the 22-year-old could be a breath of fresh air in the set-up as a captain.

"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 is exciting in some ways whenever that transition does happen. It will bring something different to the team, and they will 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)," she concluded. (ANI)

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