Left-handed batswoman Rachael Haynes has named as the skipper of the Australian women side that will play the Women Ashes against England later this year. Haynes will replace Meg Lanning as the Australian skipper after the former suffered an injury on her shoulder.
Meg Lanning has been ruled out of the Ashes series and the rest of summer after undergoing a surgery on her shoulder. However, Alex Blackwell will still serve as the vice-captain of the side.
Haynes while talking to the media said, “To be named the captain of your country, particularly in such a big series like the Ashes, is a huge honor. It’s going to be a really exciting series; I think the multi-format points system, in particular, doesn”t favor either team, so to win the Ashes you genuinely have to be the best team across all three formats.”
Haynes will be the 19th captain to lead the Australian women’s team when the first ever day-night test match gets underway on November 9 in North Sydney Oval. The Ashes will start with a three-match ODI series starting from October 23 followed by a day-night test and three T20s.
“Rachael is a tremendous leader, well respected and has a wealth of experience which will hold both her and the Australian team in good stead for what is going to be a tough series against World Champions England,” James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia CEO, said while congratulating Haynes.
The 30-year-old has represented Australia in 36 One-Day Internationals, 27 T20I’s and three tests. She made a comeback to the Australian squad after a gap of three-and-a-half years and was chosen ahead of the experienced Blackwell to lead the side in the absence of regular captain Meg Lanning in the Women’s World Cup earlier this year. However, those were the only two matches where Haynes played in the World Cup.