Rachael Louise Haynes (born 26 December 1986) is an Australian former international cricketer who has won six world championships as a member of the national women's team. A left-handed batter, Haynes was vice-captain of Australia from 2017 to 2022. Domestically, she achieved prolonged success in the Women's National Cricket League (WNCL) and the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL), winning seven titles with New South Wales and two with the Sydney Thunder.
Early life and education In her earliest backyard cricket memories, Haynes recalls using a bat carved from a fence paling while playing with her cousins and "always" watching matches on television, which led her to idolising Shane Warne before being inspired by Belinda Clark and Cathryn Fitzpatrick. Accepting an invitation from a next-door neighbour, Haynes joined North Balwyn Cricket Club at age eleven in her first formal experience with the sport. Soon after, she was lured to Box Hill Cricket Club and would go on to play at senior level alongside future Australian teammate Meg Lanning.
Haynes attended Our Lady of Sion College, completing her VCE in 2004. After obtaining a Diploma of Management from Box Hill Institute, she studied at the Australian Catholic University and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in marketing. She has also undertaken a Master of Business Administration degree at the University of Southern Queensland.
Domestic and franchise career
Women's National Cricket League
Haynes made her WNCL debut for Victoria during the 2005–06 season. She scored 83 not out in the second final of the 2006–07 season to help defeat New South Wales by eight wickets, but her team lost the deciding match by three wickets. In 2008–09, Haynes broke through for her maiden century and ended the season as the fourth-highest run-scorer with 357 at an average of 44.62. Her strong campaign ended on a sour note when she was run out for a duck in the final. Haynes was also the fifth-highest run-scorer of the 2009–10 season, making 397 at 39.70. She then followed up as the league's second-highest run-scorer in 2010–11 (making 284 at 56.80) and top-scored for her team in the final with 68 off 76 balls, though Victoria suffered defeat in the championship decider at the hands of New South Wales for a third-consecutive season.
Ahead of the 2011–12 season, Haynes moved to Sydney and joined New South Wales' WNCL team. She topped the league for most runs with 402 at an average of 57.42, which included an innings of 156 from 139 balls in the final, helping to defeat her former Victorian team by 70 runs. Haynes would go on to win another six championships with New South Wales.
Her highlights during that time included the following standout performances: In the 2013–14 final, Haynes proved herself as a capable left-arm medium pace bowler, taking three wickets for 20 runs in a match shortened to 20 overs per team due to rain. In the run chase, she scored 33 not out off 29 balls to help secure a seven-wicket victory. Haynes was the fifth-highest run-scorer across 2014–15, compiling 327 at 46.71. She earned her second-straight Player of the Final award, making 79 off 89 in a 144-run defeat of South Australia in the championship decider. Amassing the second-most runs throughout the 2017–18 season, scoring 363 at an average of 90.75, Haynes was named Player of the Tournament while her team defeated Western Australia by 51 runs in the final. Haynes was the top-scorer of the 2018–19 final against Queensland, making 79 off 105 deliveries in a 31-run victory.
Women's Big Bash League
Haynes signed with the Sydney Thunder for the inaugural WBBL season. In the final against the Sydney Sixers at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 24 January 2016, she top-scored with 37 runs to help the Thunder secure a three-wicket victory and claim the league's maiden title.
The leading run-scorer for the Thunder across WBBL03 with 426, Haynes was named her team's Most Valuable Player for the season. She led the way with the bat again in WBBL04, compiling 376 at an average of 31.33. Her team ended the regular season in second place, but they were knocked out of the tournament by the Brisbane Heat in an "incredible" semi-final at Drummoyne Oval on 19 January 2019 which was noted for its close finish.
Ahead of WBBL05, Haynes extended her contract with the Thunder and assumed the captaincy of the team, taking over from Alex Blackwell. After an underwhelming 2019–20 campaign, she rebounded emphatically the following season, leading her team to claim the WBBL06 title. Scoring 21 not out in the championship decider at North Sydney Oval, Haynes was the only member of the Thunder playing XI to have also featured in the team's inaugural final triumph.
Other leagues In April 2022, she was bought by the Welsh Fire for the 2022 season of The Hundred in England.
International career
2009: ODI and Test debut At the end of the 2008–09 season, Haynes was selected in the Australia Youth team for a three-match series against New Zealand A but was unable to make a substantial score, aggregating 26 runs at 13.00 as the series was drawn 1–1. Later in the year, she was selected for the national squad's tour of England. Haynes made her international debut in an ODI against England at Lord's on 7 July 2009. She scored 26 from 45 balls before being bowled by Holly Colvin. The match was abandoned due to rain before Australia's innings was completed.
Haynes made her Test debut three days later 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 record sixth-wicket partnership of 228 runs from 75.3 overs. Narrowly missing a century on debut, Haynes was bowled by Laura Marsh for 98, which caused stumps to be called at 7/271. The following day, she bowled four overs without conceding a run and claimed her maiden Test wicket by dismissing Nicky Shaw as Australia took a 41-run first innings lead. Haynes scored 16 in the second innings as the visitors set England a target of 273 for victory. The home team reached 3/106 before insufficient time ensured the match ended in a draw.
2010: T20I debut
Haynes performed strongly as both an opener and middle-order batter during the 2009–10 Rose Bowl series against New Zealand. In the first ODI at Adelaide Oval, she put on a 102-run opening partnership with Shelley Nitschke, top-scoring with 56 from 73 balls and helping the hosts to a 115-run win. In the fifth match at the Junction Oval, she came in at number five and hit an unbeaten 75 from 74 balls to set up a 103-run win which sealed a 5–0 clean sweep. Haynes ended the series with 173 runs at 86.50.
On 21 February 2010, Haynes made her T20 International debut at Bellerive Oval against New Zealand. She batted at number 6 and was unbeaten on 14 but was left watching from the non-striker's end while Alyssa Healy was out caught-behind on the last ball of the match, resulting in a two-run loss for Australia. She then picked up career-best T20I bowling figures on 26 February at Westpac Stadium, taking 3/19 from two overs in a 59-run loss to New Zealand.
Haynes was selected for the 2010 World Twenty20 in the Caribbean but did not play a game during the tournament. Australia would win the championship by defeating New Zealand in the final.
2011–2012: Ashes and World Twenty20 success In the only Test of the 2010–11 Women's Ashes, at Bankstown Oval, Haynes scored just 21 and four across two innings. She did, however, make a crucial contribution with the ball on the first afternoon by dismissing Jenny Gunn for 33, breaking up a 65-run stand between Gunn and Charlotte Edwards (England's largest partnership of the match). Australia went on to win by seven wickets, thereby regaining the Ashes for the first time in eight years.
Haynes was selected for the 2012 World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, though she had little opportunity to bat despite playing in all but one game. Her most significant performance of the tournament came in the semi-final against the West Indies, when she played a late-innings cameo of 15 from 12 balls in a low-scoring encounter which Australia won by 28 runs. Her team defeated England by four runs in the final to claim back-to-back T20 world championships.
2013–2016: World Cup success, exclusion from national team At the 2013 Women's Cricket World Cup in India, Haynes played several key innings throughout Australia's triumphant campaign. In the team's first match of the tournament, she top-scored with 39 on a bowler-friendly pitch to help post a modest total of 175, leading to a 91-run defeat of Pakistan. Haynes earned Player of the Match honours in the following fixture, scoring 83 off 108 balls against South Africa as Australia chased down a target of 189 with three wickets in hand. She then made 71 not out off 61 deliveries in a comfortable nine-wicket win over Sri Lanka, securing her team's place in the tournament decider. Haynes again made an impact with the bat in the final against the West Indies, scoring 52 off 74 balls with Australia going on to win by 114 runs and be crowned 50-over world champions. She finished the tournament as the fourth-highest run-scorer, compiling 273 at an average of 45.50.
Haynes experienced a drop-off in form during the 2013 Women's Ashes, scoring ten and 23 in a drawn Test at Sir Paul Getty's Ground before making back-to-back ducks in the first two matches of the tour's ODI leg. She staged a fightback late in the first T20I at Chelmsford with Ellyse Perry to form a partnership of 55 runs, but it was not enough to spare the team from a 15-run defeat. In the second T20I on 29 August in Southampton, Haynes faced just two balls and scored three not out. Australia lost the match by five wickets, thus surrendering the Ashes to England. It would take three-and-a-half years to pass before Haynes would make another international cricket appearance.
In the lead-up to the 2013–14 Women's Ashes, Haynes—who had already been selected for the series and was preparing with the squad in Perth—was informed that the size of the touring group would be cut and she was no longer required. She did not receive a national team contract for the 2014–15 season and decided to finish her university degree before finding full-time work. By late 2016, Haynes was considering retirement from cricket. A three-day-per-week job offer from Cricket NSW and a $17,000 state contract raise (due to a team sponsorship increase) combined with the aspiration of having "one last crack at making the Australian team" ahead of the 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup, persuaded Haynes to persist with the sport.
2017: Comeback and captaincy
Haynes was not initially selected for Australia's tour of New Zealand in early 2017. Rather, she was given a last-minute surprise call-up after injuries to Alex Blackwell and Ellyse Perry presented a long-awaited second chance. On 26 February at Eden Park, in her return to the international stage, Haynes scored 50 runs from 61 balls in an ODI against New Zealand. Despite the match resulting in a five-wicket loss to Australia, and although Haynes would encounter fitness issues of her own days later, selectors deemed she had done enough to earn a national team contract for the 2017–18 season.