Australia legend Meg Lanning has shed light on the increased expectations and challenges that come with playing in a home World Cup, a situation that the current India captain Harmanpreet Kaur and her teammates will soon encounter when the World Cup begins later this month.
Meg Lanning led Australia to their seventh ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup title in New Zealand in 2022 and also captained the team to their last four ICC Women’s T20 World Cup victories, which included the memorable home win over India in the 2020 final at the MCG.
Meg Lanning gives her thoughts of a home World Cup and how it will affect India.Â
Speaking to ICC Digital, Meg Lanning said: “There’s definitely a lot of added pressure at a home World Cup. You just get more media, there’s more scrutiny, and there’s very high expectations. So, it’s an added layer to everything.”Â
She further added: “You can think about and plan as much as you want, but until you’re actually in it- and especially if things don’t go well- that’s when there’s another added bit. We certainly had that in our home T20 World Cup in the first couple of group games. We didn’t get off to a good start, and we were under pressure pretty quickly.”
Meg Lanning believes the hosts of the upcoming marquee tournament can expect a similar level of heightened expectations. She further added: “It’s certainly different and something that the home teams in India will face this time around in terms of just an added layer of pressure.”
Meg Lanning shared her experiences of captaining at a home World Cup.Â
Reflecting on the positive aspects of playing at the biggest stage in front of home fans, Meg Lanning shared her experiences of captaining the team at a home World Cup. She said: “World Cups carry their own unique pressure, but there are positives to it as well. You get your home crowd every game. You get your family and friends there. You are in your home comforts. So there are certainly some pros to it, but in terms of the added pressure, that’s something that you can’t really prepare for.”Â
For the record, when Australia hosted the Women’s T20 World Cup in 2020, Meg Lanning was already a three-time champion in the format, having lifted the trophy twice as captain. Despite her experience and success, she admitted to still feeling the weight of the nation and it’s media as she led her team.
Australia had lost the opening game of the tournament to India by 17 runs after being bowled out for 115 while chasing 133 for the victory. Despite the initial setback, the hosts managed to turn their campaign around and defeated India by a comprehensive margin of 85 runs in front of a record-breaking crowd in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Meg Lanning said: “We tried our best to be ready for what was to come, but we got to the first game in a week and we weren’t ready for what was going to happen. We did adjust to it eventually.”Â
India and Sri Lanka are slated to kick off the Women’s World Cup 2025 in the opening fixture of the tournament on September 30th. It remains to be seen how India copes with the tag of being a host nation and performs in the World Cup. The expectations will undoubtedly be high from the Indian Women’s Cricket Team and only time will tell whether they do well or buckle under pressure. They have a good mix of youth and experience in the squad. Can they handle the big stage though?
So, we shall see how the Women in Blue fare in the Women’s World Cup 2025 but Meg Lanning is absolutely right and justified in warning India of the pressure that a home World Cup can bring as there is added pressure on the team and she faced it as Australian captain herself. We will wait and see how things pan out in the Women’s World Cup 2025.
Also Read: ICC Women’s World Cup 2025: Renuka Singh & Amanjot Kaur Picked In World Cup Squad.