Meg Lanning

Opponents feared Meg Lanning because she could take a game away from you in the space of a single over. Her hand-eye coordination was freakish, allowing her to pick up length early and smash the ball through gaps that barely existed. She was not just a boundary hitter; she manipulated fields with a calm, almost ruthless efficiency that made bowling plans seem redundant.

Lanning captained Australia to five World Cup titles across the T20 and ODI formats, making her the most successful captain in women's cricket. She also led her country to Commonwealth Games gold in 2022. Her 15 ODI hundreds are the most by any woman, a mark of how often she converted starts into match-winning scores, and she retired from international cricket in late 2023 with more than 8,000 runs for Australia across formats. Her technique, especially against pace, was textbook, and her pull shot was feared by every fast bowler. She paired an obvious love for batting with a captain's strategic mind, and the era of Australian dominance she presided over may never be matched.