Rachael Haynes' top six: from repair jobs to explosive finishes
England were at the receiving end of Haynes' grit and text-book acceleration more than once, but one of her "most important knocks" came vs Sri Lanka
Vishal Dikshit
15-Sep-2022
Rachael Haynes compiled 25 fifties and two hundreds in her international career • Getty Images
Rachael Haynes ended her glittering international career on Thursday with five World Cup trophies and some memorable Ashes wins across 13 years. Australia's vice-captain for a long time, and often a stand-in captain for Meg Lanning, Haynes had her fair share of unforgettable knocks. Here, we look at her top innings across formats:
98 on Test debut vs England, Worcester, 2009
Barely a week after her international debut, Haynes walked out to bat at No. 7 in her first Test with the score on 28 for 5, with many experienced players back in the dressing room. With captain Jodie Fields leading Australia's fightback, Haynes scored 98 to script a then world-record fifth-wicket partnership of 229. While Fields was a tad lucky, being dropped thrice in her century, Haynes struck 13 fours in her near five-hour stay at the crease.
Barely a week after her international debut, Haynes walked out to bat at No. 7 in her first Test with the score on 28 for 5, with many experienced players back in the dressing room. With captain Jodie Fields leading Australia's fightback, Haynes scored 98 to script a then world-record fifth-wicket partnership of 229. While Fields was a tad lucky, being dropped thrice in her century, Haynes struck 13 fours in her near five-hour stay at the crease.
She was bowled by Laura Marsh at the stroke of stumps just two shy of a century. Unfortunately, she would never go on to breach the three-figure mark in her Test career.
83 vs South Africa, Cuttack, 2013 ODI World Cup
Chasing 189 in a World Cup league game against South Africa, Australia slipped to 34 for 3 with two batters gone for ducks. Opening the innings, Haynes first took them close to the 100-run mark with the experienced Lisa Sthalekar and then to 150 with a fairly brisk 83 off 108, featuring 10 fours. That eventually took them over the line with three wickets in hand and into the Super Six stage.
Chasing 189 in a World Cup league game against South Africa, Australia slipped to 34 for 3 with two batters gone for ducks. Opening the innings, Haynes first took them close to the 100-run mark with the experienced Lisa Sthalekar and then to 150 with a fairly brisk 83 off 108, featuring 10 fours. That eventually took them over the line with three wickets in hand and into the Super Six stage.
It was her fourth ODI half-century and set the tone for the rest of the World Cup as she scored two more fifties, including one in the final against West Indies, which gave Australia their sixth ODI title. She ended the tournament as their top-scorer, averaging 45.50.
89* off 56 vs England, Coffs Harbour, 2017
Soon after her return to the side in 2017 after a gap of nearly four years, and in just her second Ashes game post-comeback, Haynes was named the stand-in captain in the absence of the injured Lanning. With the added responsibility and a platform already laid by Nicole Bolton, Alyssa Healy and Ellyse Perry, Haynes displayed a different side of her batting, blasting an unbeaten 89 off 56 to power Australia to 296 for 6, resulting in a 75-run win.
Soon after her return to the side in 2017 after a gap of nearly four years, and in just her second Ashes game post-comeback, Haynes was named the stand-in captain in the absence of the injured Lanning. With the added responsibility and a platform already laid by Nicole Bolton, Alyssa Healy and Ellyse Perry, Haynes displayed a different side of her batting, blasting an unbeaten 89 off 56 to power Australia to 296 for 6, resulting in a 75-run win.
Haynes' clean striking - nine fours and three sixes included - sent England's fielders all over the Coffs Harbour ground. A few wickets fell at the other end in the death overs but she manipulated the strike expertly to lead them to a total that gave them a 2-0 lead.
25* off 15 vs West Indies, semi-final, North Sound, 2018 T20 World Cup
Healy and Lanning's knocks at the top took the team past 100 in the 16th over but a few late wickets hurt Australia when they were looking to accelerate. That is, until vice-captain Haynes came out and picked off three fours in an over by a hobbling Deandra Dottin, and then hit one more off Stafanie Taylor in the last over to help her team collect 26 from the last 12 balls.
Healy and Lanning's knocks at the top took the team past 100 in the 16th over but a few late wickets hurt Australia when they were looking to accelerate. That is, until vice-captain Haynes came out and picked off three fours in an over by a hobbling Deandra Dottin, and then hit one more off Stafanie Taylor in the last over to help her team collect 26 from the last 12 balls.
West Indies scored only half of Australia's total of 142 in reply, and Australia marched towards their fourth T20 title. Days later it emerged that coach Matthew Mott and Lanning were thinking about moving the in-form Haynes up the order to make her face more balls, but the vice-captain was happy to stick to the middle-order role. "The icing on the cake was Rach coming in and doing that at the end and got a lot of momentum back at the back end of the innings, which is huge in T20, if you can go into that break with a bit of a kick along. She just played it so well," Mott said.
60* off 47 vs Sri Lanka, Perth, 2020 T20 World Cup
An innings Haynes herself tagged "the most important that I played" on reflection after retiring, this one came against Sri Lanka in the 2020 T20 World Cup. Chasing 123, Healy fell for a duck, Mooney for 6 and No. 3 Ashleigh Gardner for 2. This time, Haynes played a combination of the rescue act and the finisher's role with her match-winning 60 off 47.
She got a life along the way but was more aggressive in her partnership of 95 for the fourth wicket with Lanning, smashing 40 off her 60 runs on the leg side, including an 18-run 16th over off left-arm spinner Sugandika Kumari. That over turned what looked like a dicey situation, with Australia needing 44 off the last five, into a favourable one.
130 vs England, Hamilton, ODI World Cup 2022
One among the best knocks - if not the best - of her ODI career came in her last World Cup, against arch-rivals England. She saw through some tight bowling from England's quicks, with stifling field placements in play, to lay a platform along with Lanning. Once the conditions eased out for batting, she lifted herself from 39 off 60 balls at the halfway mark to a career-best 130 in what was then Australia's second-highest stand - 196 - for any non-opening partnership at a Women's World Cup.
Haynes went on to raise a fifty stand with Mooney off just 29 balls to take Australia beyond 300, with 59 coming off the last five overs. Sciver's epic 109* took England close but not far enough, and Haynes' century triggered what was a memorable swansong ODI tournament for her: 497 runs, just behind chart leader Healy's 509, at an average of 62.12 with three fifties to go with this hundred.
Vishal Dikshit is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo