Meg Lanning picks Alyssa Healy’s successor as Australia’s next ODI captain after heartbreaking CWC 2025 exit

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The shock elimination of seven-time champions Australia in the ICC Women’s World Cup semi-final 2025, courtesy of a record-breaking run chase by hosts India, has initiated critical discussions about the future leadership of the team. Current captain Alyssa Healy, having battled injuries and confirmed she won’t play in the next ODI World Cup, is approaching the twilight of her career. Addressing this imminent transition, former Australian captain and legend Meg Lanning has weighed in, pinpointing the player she believes has the temperament and leadership qualities to inherit the crucial ODI captaincy role.

Lanning, the decorated former leader who handed the ODI captaincy reins to Healy upon her retirement, believes that the next Australian captain must be chosen not just for their talent, but for the psychological strength they bring to the world’s most successful women’s team.

Lanning spoke candidly about the long list of potential candidates who could eventually take over from the 35-year-old Healy, acknowledging the strong leadership qualities inherent in current vice-captain Tahlia McGrath and the number one ranked all-rounder, Ash Gardner, who both possess high credentials for the top job.

However, Lanning is convinced that the rising star, Phoebe Litchfield, should  trump them all and become the new captain when Healy eventually decides her time is up. “I think all of those that you mentioned are certainly in the running,” Lanning noted during her appearance on The ICC Review, before stating: “I’d add Phoebe Litchfield into the mix because I think she’s got a very level head on her shoulders.”

Lanning praised the 22-year-old’s ability to quickly settle into the side, adding that Litchfield has got a really good temperament too which is vital for handling pressure, noting that the youngster already has experience captaining the Sydney Thunder in the domestic Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) competition, concluding:

“She has already shown that she has come in and settled herself nicely into the team. And i think she’s got a really good temperaments too. So i think she’s certainly an option. I think it’s exciting in some ways whenever that transition does happen. It’ll bring something different to the team and they’ll 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).” Lanning concluded.

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Australia entered the CWC 2025 as heavy favorites, having been the most consistent side in the lead-up and remaining undefeated throughout the group stages of the tournament, which included a win over India where Healy scored a century. Their campaign, however, met a disheartening end in the semi-final in Navi Mumbai, where they failed to defend a mammoth total of 338 runs, suffering a shock five-wicket defeat to hosts India in the highest-ever successful run chase in Women’s World Cup knockout history.

Captain Healy herself had a difficult semi-final outing, being dismissed for just five and crucially dropping a catch offered by centurion Jemimah Rodrigues, a miss she later lamented, stating her performance was “un-Australian.” The 35-year-old Healy, who missed two group matches due to a calf strain, also suffered a thumb injury during the semi-final while keeping, highlighting a recent run of physical setbacks in the latter stages of her career, and she confirmed post-match that she would “not be there” for the next ODI World Cup cycle, putting the search for her successor firmly on the agenda. Despite her two consecutive centuries earlier in the tournament, her final ODI World Cup match was marred by the loss and her personal struggles, leaving the Australian team facing the need for a definitive reset in their ODI structure.

Also WATCH: Alyssa Healy, Phoebe Litchfield and other Australian players left heartbroken after loss to India in 2nd semifinal | Women’s World Cup 2025

This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.