Meg Lanning

It is with great pleasure that we announce the Carey Medal recipient for 2021 is Meghann (Meg) Lanning.

Meg was a student at Carey from 2003 to 2009 and has a younger sister, Anna, who also attended Carey. Meg was a member of Sutton House and an active participant in school sports, receiving School Colours for Hockey, Cricket and Athletics. As a Year 9 student, Meg broke 100 years of tradition by becoming the first female to play First XI Cricket in the APS competition, which she continued to do right through to Year 12. She also played in the Hockey First Team from Years 8 to 12, co-captaining in her final two years, and was a member of the Athletics Team.

One year out of school, Meg made her cricket debut for Australia and, a few weeks later, became the youngest Australian cricketer to score an international century. At age 21, Meg became the youngest player to captain the Australian Cricket Team and has since developed from a quiet student who excelled at sport to a leading international role model. Alongside her outstanding sporting CV, Meg holds a Bachelor of Exercise and Health Science from the Australian Catholic University, is an ambassador for numerous charities and volunteers considerable time to inspiring women across the globe to reach their full potential.

The Carey Medal Committee believes that Meg Lanning is a worthy recipient. She has given exceptional and outstanding service to the community as a sports role model, but, more importantly, has volunteered as an ambassador or patron of many charities.

The Alannah and Madeline Foundation is a national charity with the aim to protect children from violence, providing prevention and care for children and young people. Former CEO Lesley Podesta said:

‘Meg was always the most generous and caring young woman. She was always committed to creating respectful relationships with everyone she met through our Foundation, but especially the children and young people at our events. She would make sure she spoke with or interacted with them all, often spending much more time than planned at the event, so she could do this. Meg is someone who “walks the talk”. Meg is a very inclusive person and we absolutely loved working with her.’

Meg Lanning has also been an advocate of VicSport’s Fair Play Code campaign. It sets out guiding principles on expected standards of behaviour for every person involved in sport and recreation in Victoria. The five core values at the heart of the code are integrity, respect, responsibility, fairness and safety. It sends a loud and clear message that bad behaviour, violence, cheating and intimidation have no place in sport and recreation. Meg says:

‘Playing in the right spirit is really important. Protecting the integrity of the game is crucial, especially at the elite level where we are role models to others coming through. Internally, we speak about it a lot because we want to make sure we’re playing the game the right way because we have that responsibility.’

President of Washington Park Cricket Club, Chris Gorrie, has known Meg through his involvement with Cricket Australia. Early in 2021, Meg attended a club training session, impressing Gorrie. ‘Meg has really grown as a person who is quite shy and is really working to use her position to encourage and support others. She is quite inspiring,’ he says.

Former CEO of Cricket Australia James Sutherland adds, ‘Meg is becoming more of a spokesperson for her team and the movement of women in sport. She speaks up, stands up and lends not just her name, but valuable and limited time to a number of causes.’

Other charities that Meg has provided time and involvement with have included Zaidee’s Rainbow Foundation, CARE Australia’s Walk in her Shoes Challenge, The Chappell Foundation and FairBreak Global’s Captain’s Cause initiative with SolarBuddy.

In addition, Meg has often returned to Carey to share her expertise and experiences. Since graduating, she has attended numerous school events, including a recent girls’ cricket clinic held at the Carey Bulleen Sports Complex where she worked her way around the various drills, offering personal advice and tips.

Congratulations Meg on all your achievements and being awarded the prestigious Carey Medal.