The Australian batter Rachel Haynes declared on Thursday that she was quitting the international cricket. The 35-year-old southpaw made her international debut in 2009 and has since played in 6 Tests, 77 ODIs, and 84 T20 Internationals. She has also been a part of teams that won the 50-over world championships in 2013, 2017, and 2022 in addition to the T20 world cups in 2018, 2020, and 2022.
Haynes, whose career got off to a poor start in 2013, returned to the team in 2017 and has been a regular since then. With career total of 2585 runs in ODIs and 850 runs in T20Is, she concluded her career as the ninth-highest run scorer for Australia in both short overs forms. Haynes played a crucial role in Australia’s dominance in international cricket after their elimination from the 2017 World Cup. From 2018 to 2019, she served as Meg Lanning’s deputy. During that time, Australia won two T20 world championships, one 50-over world championship, and the CWG gold medal.
“I honestly thought that perhaps I was going to walk away from the game at that time,” Haynes told reporters in Sydney about her time when she was dropped from the side. “But I had a lot of people get behind me and support me through that period and give me another chance and it’s changed my life and I’m very grateful.
“It’s always tough being dropped from any side as an athlete, because you’re getting told you’re no longer required to do something that you love, so it definitely takes the wind out of your sails. But somewhere along the way, I found my love for the game again and I wanted to give it one last crack.
“It was one of those sliding doors moments where there was a couple of injuries at the time in the team and I was in the right place at the right time. And the thing that I was proud of was that I stayed ready for that moment too. I was able to step into it when it did come.”
