Rachael Haynes (T20 cricket) ended her decorated international cricket career as vice-captain of the Australian team that won the Commonwealth Games gold medal in Birmingham.

One of the world’s best top-order batters, she retired having also been a member of six World Cup-winning squads in two formats of the game: T20 and one-day internationals. She played 77 one-day 84 T20 internationals and six Tests for Australia since her debut in 2009.

Nicknamed ‘Des’ or ‘Dessie’ – honouring West Indian legend Desmond Haynes – Rachael remembers playing cricket in the backyard with her cousins before accepting an invitation from her next-door neighbour to join the North Balwyn Cricket Club in Melbourne. Soon after, she moved to Box Hill Cricket Club, going on to play at a senior level alongside Meg Lanning. 

Rachael made her debut for Victoria in 2005/06, moving to Sydney five years later and helping the NSW Blues to six national titles. She played for the Sydney Thunder in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) and was a member of the team that claimed the inaugural title in 2015/16. 

Haynes’s partner is former Australian player Leah Poulton and the couple welcomed their first child, Hugo, in October 2021.