Rachael Haynes

Rachael started her career with North Balwyn Cricket Club playing Under 12 cricket against predominantly boys teams. She later on moved to Box Hill Cricket Club to play in the women’s competition. Haynes was selected for Victoria's team for the Under-17 interstate tournament in March 2001, aged just 14 years and three months. She did not have much success in her first year; she was selected for only two matches and made 10 in her only innings. The following year, she returned and scored 28 before taking 2/3 in the first match as Victoria defeated the Australian Capital Territory by 221 runs.[3] These were her best batting and bowling performances for the series and she ended with 84 runs at 16.80 and three wickets at 7.66 from five matches.[3] In January 2003, a week after turning 16, she was in the Victorian team for the Under-19 interstate competition, and did not have a great impact in her five matches, scoring 54 runs at 13.50—being run out twice—and taking one wicket.[3] The following January, Haynes returned and took 6/13 in Victoria's opening match, as they dismissed Western Australia for only 27 and went on to a ten-wicket win.[3] She later top-scored with 45 not out against New South Wales and ended the tournament by scoring 89 and then taking 2/11 as Victoria crushed the Australian Capital Territory by 314 runs.[3] In total, she scored 159 runs at 53.00 and took 12 wickets at 10.75.[3]

Mid-way through the 2005–06 season, Haynes was called up to make her senior debut with Victoria in the Women's National Cricket League (WNCL). She played four matches with little success, scoring 31 runs at 7.75 and not bowling. She continued to have a high incidence of being run out; she had been dismissed 3 times out of 14 in interstate youth cricket in such a way, and fell in that manner in consecutive innings against Queensland.[3]

Haynes played in all 11 of Victoria's WNCL matches in 2006–07. After a slow start to the season, passing 12 only once in the first six matches, she hit 60, her maiden half-century at senior level, against Queensland, setting up a 47-run win.[3] Victoria won six of their eight round-robin matches to qualify second for the three-match finals series, which were hosted by New South Wales in Sydney.[3] In the first match, Haynes scored 15 as the hosts were bowled out for 136 and New South Wales reached their target of 137 with only one wicket in hand.[3] In the second match, Haynes top-scored with an unbeaten 83 as the visitors levelled the series, reaching the target of 145 with eight wickets in hand. She made only two Victoria batted first and made 7/205, and the hosts reached the target with three wickets in hand to take the title.[3] Haynes ended her season with 253 runs at 25.30 and one wicket at 32.00.[3]

Haynes was called into the Australia Youth team for a three-match series against New Zealand A at the end of the season, but was unable to make a substantial score, aggregating 26 runs at 13.00 as the series was drawn 1–1.[3]

Haynes fielding a ball at practice.

In the 2007–08 season, Haynes played in all eight of Victoria's WNCL matches. She started the season with 69 and 1/4 in a 97-run win over Western Australia, and then made 38 and 47 as Victoria lost both matches to New South Wales. This was the start of run of five consecutive defeats for Victoria, and Haynes was not productive during the second half of the season, making only 59 runs in her last four innings. Victoria won only three of their matches and missed the finals; Haynes ended with 239 runs at 29.87 and four wickets at 27.25.[3] She had little success in Victoria's two Twenty20 matches, making 3 not out in her only innings and taking 2/2 against Queensland.[3]

At the end of the season, Haynes scored 63 not out for Victoria against the touring England team, guiding her state to a nine-wicket win. She was selected for the Under-21 national team to play against England and Australia, and made 81 runs at 27.00 in the three matches.[3] Haynes scored heavily during the 2008–09 WNCL. After scoring 40 in the opening match of the season against South Australia, she struck 105 in the fourth match against Queensland, her maiden century, helping her state of a one run/wicket win.[3] Two matches later, she struck an unbeaten 98 in a six-wicket win over Western Australia. However, her form petered out at the end of the season. In the last double-header of the season against New South Wales, she scored 36 and 5, as the defending champions won both matches, and in the final played the following week, she was run out for a duck as Victoria were dismissed for 117; New South Wales won by six wickets.[3]

Haynes ended the season with 357 runs at 44.62 and took two wickets at 34.50 at an economy rate of 5.30.[3] In two T20 matches, she 58 runs at 58.00 and took one wicket at 38.00 and an economy rate of 7.60.[3] In the second match, she scored an unbeaten 33 to guide Victoria to a one-wicket win over New South Wales.[3]

Haynes batting for Sydney Thunder at Lilac Hill Park, Perth, 2018

Despite these performances, Haynes was overlooked for international selection. She missed the Rose Bowl series against New Zealand at the end of the season, and the World Cup held in Australia. She was also overlooked for the World Twenty20 held in England in June, although she was selected to join the squad for the bilateral series against the hosts after the end of the tournament.[3]

After the hosts had taken a 4–0 lead, Haynes made her international debut in the fifth and final One Day International against England at Lord's. Upon the fall of opener Leah Poulton, Haynes came in at No. 3 to join Shelley Nitschke and scored 26 from 45 balls, hitting four fours before being bowled by Holly Colvin. The match was abandoned due to rain before Australia's innings was completed.[4]

Haynes then made her Test debut in the one-off match at New Road, Worcester. Australia batted first and collapsed to be 5/28 after the first hour, bringing Haynes to the crease to join captain Jodie Fields. The pair added a world record partnership of 228 runs from 75.3 overs before Fields fell for 139 late on the first day with the score at 6/257.[5] Haynes narrowly missed a Test century on debut, bowled by off spinner Laura Marsh for 98, which caused stumps to be taken at 7/271. The next day the tourists were dismissed 309. Haynes then bowled four overs without conceding a run, taking her maiden Test wicket, bowling Nicki Shaw as Australia took a 41-run lead.[5] Batting at No. 9, Haynes made 16 from 18 balls in the second innings before being stumped by Sarah Taylor as the visitors set England 273 for victory. The home team reached 3/106 when time ran out as Haynes took 0/13 in the second innings.[3][5]

The WNCL was expanded in 2009–10 with the addition of the ACT, so ten round-robin matches were scheduled, and Haynes played in all but one match for the season, scoring 397 runs at 39.70. Haynes struggled to convert her starts into large scores in the first six innings posting scores ranging from 16 to 32. In the seventh match, she struck a career-best 126 as Victoria amassed 3/295 to defeat South Australia by 67 runs.[3] She followed this with 37 and 85 in consecutive wins of the ACT. Victoria again met New South Wales in the final, and they defended their title successfully by securing a 59-run win. Haynes was again unsuccessful in the decider, making only four. Haynes only bowled once during the competition, taking 1/9 from two overs against the ACT.[3]

Haynes was not as successful in the domestic T20s, now part of a full interstate tournament, scoring 67 runs at 11.16 with a best score of 21 and taking one wickets at 33.00 at an economy rate of 8.25.[3] Victoria met New South Wales in the final and she scored 17 as they completed a 52-run win.[3]

Haynes was retained for the Rose Bowl series against New Zealand in early 2010 and played in all of the five ODIs in Australia. Opening the innings with Nitschke after Poulton was dropped, she top-scored in the first ODI at Adelaide Oval with 56 from 73 balls, helping the hosts to 241 and a 115-run win.[3][6][7] In the next match, she made 8 from 25 balls as Australia won by four wickets on the Duckworth-Lewis method. From the third match onwards, she was moved down into the middle-order to accommodate Poulton at the top of the order alongside Nitschke.[7] Haynes scored 34 not out from 29 balls in the third match at the death, pushing Australia to 7/238. After not being required to bat in a ten-wicket win in the fourth match, she top-scored again in the fifth match, hitting an unbeaten 75 from 74 balls, including eight fours, to set up a 103-run win and a 5–0 clean sweep. Haynes ended with 173 runs at 86.50 at a strike rate of 86.06.[3][6][7]

The ODIs were followed by three T20 matches at Bellerive Oval in Hobart and two more in New Zealand. Haynes played in all five as New Zealand completed a clean sweep. In the first match, her T20 debut, she came in at No. 6 and was unbeaten on 14 from 16 balls and watching from the non-striker's end as her partner Alyssa Healy was caught from the last ball of the match, handing New Zealand a two-run win.[3][8] In the following match, Australia batted first and Haynes was promoted to No. 4, but struggled to generate momentum, making 15 from 22 balls. In the third match, she was out for 16 from as many balls at No. 6, run out as Australia lost their third match in a row.[3][8] She continued to struggle in the last two matches, making 5 from 7 balls in Wellington before being promoted to open in the final match in Christchurch, making 3 from 5 balls.[8] Haynes was not successful in the T20s, scoring 53 runs at 13.25 at a strike rate of 80.25.[3][8] She bowled for the only time during the bilateral series in the fourth T20 match, taking 3/19 from two overs.[3][6][9]

The series concluded with three ODIs in New Zealand, which the tourists swept 3–0. Haynes was not as successful as she was in the ODIs in Australian scoring 31 runs at 10.33 and a strike rate of 45.58.[3][7]

In April 2019, Cricket Australia awarded her with a contract ahead of the 2019–20 season.[10][11] In June 2019, Cricket Australia named her in Australia's team for their tour to England to contest the Women's Ashes.[12][13] In October 2019, during Australia's series against Sri Lanka, Haynes scored her first century in WODI cricket.[14]

Haynes bowling in the Adelaide Oval nets.

Haynes was selected for the 2010 World Twenty20 in the West Indies but spent almost the entire tournament watching from the sidelines, playing in only one warm-up match.[15][16][17][18][19][20][21] In the first warm-up match, against New Zealand, she took 0/12 from two overs and then did not bat as Australia made 5/118.[15] She did not play in the next preparatory match as the Australians defeated Pakistan by 82 runs.[16] There was no room for Haynes after fellow Victorian Elyse Villani was brought in to open the batting and the other batsmen were moved down a position. Villani had made 6 from 10 balls and 45 from 36 balls in the two lead-in matches.[15][16][17]

Australia won all three group matches, and then the semi-final and final to take the tournament, and Villani was persisted with throughout even though she only aggregated 28 runs at 5.60 with a strike rate of 73.68.[17][18][19][20][21]

In October 2018, she was named in Australia's squad for the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 tournament in the West Indies.[22][23] In January 2020, she was named as the vice-captain of Australia's squad for the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Australia.[24]

In April 2017, New South Wales Blues player Steve O'Keefe was reported to have made 'highly inappropriate comments' while drunk to New South Wales Breakers cricketer towards Haynes and her partner at Cricket NSW's Steve Waugh Medal function, which left Haynes in tears. O'Keefe was fined $20,000 and excluded from playing in the Matador One-Day Cup for that season.[25][26]

Media related to Rachael Haynes at Wikimedia Commons

• Rachael Haynes at Cricket Australia
• Rachael Haynes at ESPNcricinfo