Superstar all-rounder Ellyse Perry has revealed it was "really hard" to hear of the personal struggle experienced by former Australian women's cricket captain Meg Lanning, which ultimately led to her immediate retirement from international cricket last November.
A fortnight ago, Lanning spoke candidly of her "obsessive" and "unhealthy relationship with food and exercise".
She explained that she had to step away from the national team to prioritise her health and wellbeing and receive help.
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"I was over-exercising and under-fuelling. I got to the point where I was doing about 85-90km a week. I was in denial. It became a bit of 'I am going to show you' sort of thing," she told The Howie Games podcast.
"It sort of just spiralled. I was not in a place to be able to go on tour and play cricket and give the commitment levels required for that Ashes series mentally and physically."
While Lanning did not tell her teammates of the inner turmoil she was battling, she suspected that they knew she was not in a good place mentally.
"I am naturally fine spending time with myself but there were very few people who I would want to engage with. I would get really snappy [and] real moody if anyone asked anything," she said.
"I did not realise my ability to concentrate [was affected]. I didn't really want to see other people. I disengaged a lot from friends and family."
Perry, who was a teammate of Lanning's in the Australian side for over a decade, wished her former skipper the best and applauded her "incredibly brave" move to share her experience.
Speaking at the launch of Cricket Australia's new Women and Girls Action Plan at the MCG on Tuesday, Perry petitioned the game to better support its female athletes.
"I'm sure in doing so (Lanning) hopes that that helps other people as well who experience similar things," she told media.
"I think it's obviously really hard to hear that as a teammate and to know that someone that you've played with so closely for a long period of time has had some struggles."
Perry declared that inadequate research was being conducted on issues like disordered eating and mental health amongst elite female athletes.
"As a result, we don't know enough to support people as best as we possibly can," she said.
CA's chief executive Nick Hockley explained that because the women's game had rapidly professionalised in recent years, it had created new challenges for female cricketers.
"One of the things [Lanning] talked about on the podcast was actually just being able to speak to people has really helped," he said.
"So hopefully there are some really strong lessons in that for everybody, and I just commend her leadership."
The action plan, which Perry helped to develop, includes championing player development, including mental health, through "the increasingly crowded global cricket calendar".
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