2021 Carey Medallist, Meg Lanning: cricket great and social advocate

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

Meg was a student at Carey from 2003 to 2009, and, as a Year 9 student, broke 100 years of tradition by becoming the first female to play First XI Cricket in the APS competition. 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. She has since developed from a quiet student who excelled at sport to a leading international role model.

Meg has given exceptional and outstanding service to the community as an ambassador for numerous charities and through volunteering considerable time to inspiring women across the globe to reach their full potential.

One such charity is the Alannah and Madeline Foundation, 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.’

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. Meg has also been an advocate of VicSport’s Fair Play Code campaign, which sets out guiding principles on expected standards of behaviour for every person involved in sport and recreation in Victoria.

Former CEO of Cricket Australia James Sutherland says, ‘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.’

Last week, Meg led the Australian Cricket Team to victory against England in New Zealand winning the World Cup for Australia for the second time. This brings her total world championships to six. While competing in New Zealand, she also scored her 15th one-day international century. Meg consistently proves herself to be one of the greatest Australian cricketers, and we continue to follow her career with interest and excitement.

Read more about Meg and her achievements.

Who is the next Carey Medallist?
If you know of anyone in the Carey community who inspires you and others, who is helping people in a volunteer capacity, and who you think deserves the recognition of this prestigious community award, you can nominate them for the 2022 Carey Medal.

They could be a student working hard outside of school to make life better for others. A past parent who has had an impact on their industry beyond what is expected in their job. A staff member who has dedicated their spare time to a cause close to their heart.

They could be new to community service or they could have been working at it for a long time. Maybe they’re not in the public eye and the work they do isn’t of a high profile. Perhaps they are not the type of person to seek recognition for their efforts.

Nominations are open now until 31 May. You can download the Carey Medal Nomination form or contact us if you have anyone in mind. Find out more information here.

Carey Medal Committee