Who'll Be The Hier To Meg's Throne?

Adam Collins looks at who could perhaps take over the mantle of the world’s most dominant women’s player from Australia captain Meg Lanning

Who run the world? Beyonce has asked over the loud speaker whenever the Australian and England teams has taken the field in this Women’s Ashes series. Technically, both do give they hold the two trophies that matter – the hosts the 50over World Cup from the summer of 2017, the visitors the silverware of last November in the shortest form. But with Meg Lanning’s side wrapping this series up in straight sets, their supremacy is obvious.

Broadening that out individual players, there is no doubt that Ellyse Perry would be holding the championship belt as the dominant player in the women’s game. In 2018, a vote of 20 experts for The Guardian newspaper had the all-rounder pegged at number one in a tight race. If that were to be held again today, every judge would surely have her at the top – even the one who said to me that she wasn’t in the best ten players in the world when that survey was released. It’s that clear cut that any debate to the contrary isn’t really worth engaging in.

Then what about the race for the best youngster on show? The heir to Perry’s throne as the most dominant player in the women’s game? That’s a fraction more interesting. In Ash Gardner, Australia has a ready-made future skipper – a leader that oozes class whenever she speaks, hits big bombs with the bat and turns the ball square with her off-spin. At 22 years old, she has everything in front of her. Sure, there is no reason to think that Lanning will be handing over the armband any time soon, but at least that decision is clear when she does.