Meg Lanning and Shane Warne honoured in Queen's Birthday List

Australia captain Meg Lanning and the late Shane Warne have been recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

Lanning, who has led Australia to consecutive T20 World Cup titles and most recently the ODI World Cup, has been awarded Member (AM) in the General Division for significant service to women's cricket at the elite level.

Since taking on the Australian captaincy in 2014 when she was 21, Lanning has overall won three T20 World Cup titles as well as three Ashes victories in 2015, 2019 and 2021-22 (she missed 2017-18 due to injury) and been in charge of a record-breaking 26-match ODI winning streak. She is comfortably Australia's leading run-scorer in T20Is and closing in on the same landmark in ODIs.

Warne, who died aged 52 on March 4 when he suffered a heart attack in Thailand, has been posthumously appointed an Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to cricket as a player, role model and commentator, to the community through charitable initiatives, and for philanthropic contributions.

Warne's extraordinary feats on the field - which brought him 1,001 international wickets - put him among the greatest to have ever played the game, but this honour also reflects his broader impact on the game and wider society.

In 2020, Warne auctioned his baggy green to raise money for bushfire victims and it fetched over AUD$1 million - a record price paid for an item of Australian sports memorabilia.

There was also the Shane Warne Foundation, which raised AUD$7.8 million to support ill and underprivileged children in Australia for a dozen years before closing.

But other organisations quietly benefited from Warne's philanthropy. He was a benefactor for My Room Children's Cancer Charity. And a long-time supporter of Challenge, which also helped kids with cancer.

Warne donated memorabilia and made voluntary appearances at fundraising events for a range of charities including Elton John AIDS Foundation, Australian Red Cross, Scope and the Small Steps Project.

And his reach extended beyond Australia, with support for the 2011 Christchurch earthquake recovery and contributions to the rebuilding of the town of Galle in Sri Lanka and its cricket stadium following the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

Warne also supported various UN development programs including the Lion's Share wildlife fund. The UN announced the establishment of a conservation grant in his name after his death.

Other cricketers to be honoured as Member (AM) in the General Division were Doug Walters, the former allrounder who played 74 Tests, and former Australia captain Muriel Picton who played seven Tests between 1961 and 1969.

"We are enormously proud to see Australian women's captain Meg Lanning recognised in today's Honour List," Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley said. "Her leadership and performances have been central to the outstanding success of our women's team.

"Shane Warne was one of the most talented and charismatic cricketers the world has ever seen and we are reminded today of the indelible legacy he created both on and off the field.

"Muriel Picton and Doug Walters both hold a special place in Australian cricket and we are delighted that they have been recognised today as Members of the General Division."