Rachael Haynes has ended her long and decorated international cricket career:
Rachael Haynes ended months of speculation around her future on Thursday, calling time on a 13-year international career that included 167 games across formats.
The 35-year-old has also retired from domestic one-day cricket, yet will focus on this late spring’s WBBL with the Sydney Thunder prior to ceasing to play entirely.
Haynes’ retirement leaves Cricket Australia with one more potential captaincy choice to make, as she has been captain Meg Lanning’s deputy for the past five years.
Lanning has enjoyed some time off from cricket for personal reasons, and isn’t certain to return before Australia’s next match in India in December.
Alyssa Healy would be the most likely candidate to fill the role whenever it’s expected, following her filling in as Lanning’s deputy for part of last summer when Haynes was injured.
One of the world’s best top-order batters, Haynes enjoyed a career split in two after she had to battle her way back into the team following the loss in the 2013 Ashes.
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She needed to hold on until 2017 to be recalled, taking over as captain very quickly in that year’s one-day World Cup.The left-hander scored the greater part of her 3818 career runs starting there, averaging 41.25 since her return to the side in all formats.
An extraordinary aspect of having a long career is watching people around you develop,” Haynes said in a statement.
“I’m very glad for the way this team has acquired players and nurtured their development.
“The ability to assist players with changing flawlessly has been instrumental to our team’s success.”
“To be a leader inside this environment has been the best honour of my career.”
Haynes’ career includes wins in three T20 World Cups and two one-day titles, while she also sits fourth all-time in leading run-scorers in the women’s National Cricket League.
Her retirement follows coach Matthew Mott’s decision to leave the all-vanquishing Australian side recently to take up the job as England men’s white-ball coach.
Thus, she becomes the first member of the team to quit the international game since Alex Blackwell in early 2018.
Australia’s selectors have long focused on succession planning, with Lanning (30), Healy (32) and Ellyse Perry (31) having all been part of the team for over 12 years.
