“If you had asked me in January if I thought I would be finding myself back in the Australian team, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. I am definitely riding the wave."
Tuesday 24 October 2017 11:32, UK
A year ago Rachael Haynes sat contemplating retiring from a sport she had dedicated much of the last 12 years of her life to.
Cut adrift from the Australian national side in 2013 with no hint of a recall, the 30-year-old had a good job with a marketing company.
Life, it seemed, was settled after what she recalls as a "devastating" period when she lost her central contract after a loss of form.
But cricket was and remains Haynes' passion and with a World Cup on the horizon she chose to quit her job and fight for a recall.
Ten months on, the Melbourne-born batsman is preparing to become the first Australian to captain in a day-night Ashes Test.
"If you had asked me in January if I thought I would be finding myself back in the Australian team, I probably wouldn't have believed you," she said.
"I had a three-year hiatus and I honestly didn't think I would ever get another opportunity. I wasn't sure how much more was left for me in cricket.
"I had played in World Cups and been a part of very successful domestic teams as well, so it was playing on my mind what was next for me.
"I didn't realise how much I missed pulling on the (Australian) uniform until I got that opportunity in New Zealand.
"I have an (international) career that has spanned over the last 11 years. I know that sport can be fickle. I am definitely riding the wave."
Haynes' recall to side was not without controversy, as she returned to captain Australia in two World Cup matches this summer.
Having played just a single one-day international in four years - against New Zealand in February 2017 - prior to the tournament in England, Cricket Australia claimed the left-handed batsman's leadership skills with domestic side Victoria mirrored those of regular captain Meg Lanning.
Australian are undoubtedly a team filled with potential captains, not least Alex Blackwell, who was named vice-captain under Lanning in June 2014.
All-rounder and talisman Ellyse Perry, too, had a strong case for leading the side, with both players having been constants and vital parts of the successful team.
However, captaining her country at the World Cup was not an opportunity Haynes was going to turn down.
"Unfortunately for Ellyse Perry and Alex Blackwell they picked up a couple of injuries and I got my opportunity and was able to make the most of it," the New South Wales player explained.
"There was a lot of interest in what was going on with the team from the outside but I was focused on what was being asked of me as a player.
"A lot of people are throwing it around that Meg and I are similar but for me to be successful as the leader of this team, I do need to lead with my own spin on things."
Leading is not a foreign concept to Haynes, she is one of only two players - after Belinda Clarke - to have captained both NSW and Victoria in the Australian Women's domestic cricket league.
She was captain as Australia picked up convincing victories against Pakistan and South Africa in this year's World Cup, with Lanning managing a recurring shoulder injury.
After Lanning was ruled out of the Women's Ashes having undergone surgery, it was announced in September that Haynes would lead Australia for the Ashes series against England.
Though many consider her return to the side simply as a placeholder for Lanning, Haynes is intent on making enough runs and proving her worth in the side.
"I am grateful that I have got the opportunity that I have and to be given the honour to lead the team as well is something that means a lot to me as a player," she said.
"Now that I have returned, I definitely want to make the most of it. I don't feel a pressure that is holding me down, I want to do well and play as many matches as possible for my country.
"If I'm scoring runs and playing well enough hopefully I will continue to have that opportunity (when Lanning comes back)."
Haynes' departure from the national side in 2013 came after a poor Ashes series in England, where she was dismissed for a duck in the first two ODIs before being dropped for the third.
Scores of 25 not out and three not out in the first two Twenty20s against the old foe also saw her lose her place for the third T20, as England swept to a convincing victory.
The cutthroat nature of women's sport was laid bare at that time, as Haynes had been the leading run-scorer in the World Cup in India just months earlier in 2013, but still lost her central contact.
A first personal 'failure' in international sport hit the then 26-year-old hard.
"I wasn't scoring enough runs and it was a really tough time. I lost my contract and it was pretty devastating as a player," Haynes recalls.
"Up until that point I had always been achieving something as an athlete so it really takes the wind out of you. It took me a little bit of time to get over it.
"I had to find a bit of balance away from the game. I finished my university degree and went out into the workforce full-time.
"It helped give me a little bit of a perspective and helped me feel a little bit more prepared if things weren't to go so well again in the future."
Leading Australia in this Ashes series will be no easy task following a disappointing defence of their World Cup title which saw Australia fall at the semi-final stage.
They face an England side at the peak of their powers, newly-crowned World Cup winners and the No 1 ODI side in the world.
The first ODI at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane is sold out, a first for women's international cricket in Australia, and with plenty of media attention there is undeniably a great deal of pressure.
However, Haynes believes her side are poised to retain the urn they convincingly won in England in 2015.
"We spent two weeks in Brisbane (at a pre-Ashes camp) and spoke about the semi-final loss to India, it was important to," she said.
"It's such a huge build-up as a player and unfortunately we fell short. We spoke about and identified the team we want to be and the areas that we want to focus and improve on.
"You have to be the best team across all three formats to win the Ashes and I think our team is looking forward to challenge of having to adapt.
"To be the first male or female team to play in an Ashes day-night Test match is really exciting.
"We have had some great contests in the past (with England) and I expect there will be again as the top two teams in the world are going to playing off against each other.
"We want to win and especially in a series like the Ashes there is always plenty on the line."
Regardless of what unfolds over the coming weeks after an eventful 12 months, Haynes says she is savouring the moment:
"I want to cherish every opportunity that I have because you never know when something might change."
