Published: Sep 20, 2017, 12:09 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 20, 2017, 12:09 PM (IST)
Putting a rest to the speculations doing the round since a month, Australia appointed Rachel Haynes as the captain of the side for The Ashes 2017-18. Haynes returned to the national side after a 3 and half years layoff in February. Haynes was already in radar of the Australia selectors as the next captain. Haynes has led Australia in two matches of 2017 Women’s World Cup 2017 when Meg Lanning had injured her shoulder. Lanning underwent surgery in August and has been ruled out for 6-8 months, meaning she won’t take any part in the 2017-18 home summers. Haynes was the preferred choice ahead of vice-captain Alex Blackwell.
Set to play a bigger role in the 7-match Ashes starting October 22, Haynes was delighted to receive this huge honour, “I had the opportunity in the World Cup and that was great but to captain in an Ashes series, in such a huge series, it’s a huge honour and it’s something I’m really excited about,” Haynes told cricket.com.au. Haynes knew about her appointment during the pre-Ashes training camp, “It’s a big responsibility to captain Australia. The team has been fantastic, we had a chat about what it means and Meg has been extremely supportive as well. I have Alex (Blackwell) there too as vice-captain so I’m feeling really confident in terms of the support I’ll have around me and I’m just looking forward to getting back together as a squad when we come back into camp.”
Australia will be hosting England for 3-match ODIs, a day-night Test – a first one in women’s cricket history and 3-match T20Is. Haynes is confident that Australia can adapt to the conditions, “I’ve been part of a multi-format Ashes before and I know what to expect. There’s days there so much cricket played, we all know the changes you need to make across the different formats so we’ll be well planned for that.”
