Australia’s vice-captain and opening batter Rachael Haynes won the ICC player of the month award for March 2022, riding on her prolific outing in the recently concluded ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup that was played in New Zealand. Australia clinched their seventh World Cup title and Haynes was one of the important sculptors who carved the Australian win in the mega event.
The 35-year old southpaw pipped South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt and England’s Sophie Ecclestone to bag the player of the month award. While Wolvaardt led the Proteas to the semi-finals with 433 runs, Ecclestone powered the 2017 World Cup winners to the finals with 21 wickets, which was the highest in this 2022 World Cup.
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Rachael Haynes declared ICC’s Player of the Month for March 2022#CWC22 #TeamAustralia pic.twitter.com/AEuRQaTI5N
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The star Australian batter muscled 497 runs in nine matches to finish the World Cup as the second-highest run getter behind her country mate and opening partner Alyssa Healy who topped the runs chart with 509 runs. Haynes averaged a healthy 62.12 and enjoyed a strike rate of 82.56. The stylish southpaw hammered a century and three half-centuries. She had a total of 57 boundaries and a six to her name. Her highest score came against Australia’s Ashes rivals England in the World Cup opener when she plundered a blistering 130 off 131 balls that propelled her team to post a daunting total of 3-310 in 50 overs. Apart from this, in the semi-final against the West Indies, she mustered 85 runs off 100 balls to stitch a record 216-run opening partnership with Healy in this edition of the World Cup.
Former Ireland cricketer and member of the voting panel Clare Shillington appreciated Haynes, saying, “Rachael Haynes was the backbone of nearly every World Cup game for Australia, consistently set platforms for them to go on and set huge totals, or chase down any scores put up to them. She was paramount in them reaching the final.”
Sana Mir, former captain of Pakistan and a member of the voting panel said, “Rachael Haynes has been very consistent for Australia. She set the tone for Australia with a big hundred in their first game of the tournament. Her contributions throughout the World Cup set the other batters to build on. Haynes is a quality batter and a leader in women’s game.”
Quotes are sourced from the ICC website
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I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.
