Women’s Big Bash League side Sydney Thunder captain Rachel Haynes will not be available for the entire tournament to spend time with her family, a hamstring injury during the series against India and border closures due to the COVID-19 situation.
Rachel suffered a hamstring injury during the third ODI between Australia and India at Mackay in late September and was ruled out of the rest of the series, including the pink-ball Test and three T20Is in the Gold Coast. A day after the first day of the Test, the 34-year-old returned to her home in Sydney, where her partner Leah Poulton welcomed her first child, Hugo.
“I understand that the schedule needs to be tweaked due to the border closure. However, this means that the Sydney Thunder will be on the road for the entire duration of the WBBL – with a mandatory 14-day quarantine – leaving me with no choice but to make myself unavailable. However, as I told the squad, if the current boundary restrictions of the tournament structure change, I will be back,” Rachel said in a statement to the club on Wednesday.
Rachel had always planned to miss the first part of WBBL to be with her family. With the entire WBBL played in Tasmania followed by South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland, Rachel has decided to miss the tournament unless there is a change in the schedule or boundary conditions. Players from New South Wales and Victoria had to stay in hotel quarantine for 14 days in Hobart before joining their respective WBBL teams.
Rachel said she would continue her rehabilitation on the injured hamstring while spending time with Leah and Hugo. “As much as I want to be with the team, it would not be fair for us as a family to leave Leah and Hugo at this stage for so long. I have spoken to all the players and staff and they have been very supportive of my decision. has done.”
“It just shows that the heart wins in matters of the heart. Although I am doing my hamstring rehabilitation with the intention that I can put myself forward to play, it will be much later in the season and on state borders. There will be an accidental opening.”
Sydney head coach Adam Griffith was saddened by Rachel’s exit, but insisted there were options to lead the team. “As disappointing as it is, I know Rachel will be watching to see who steps up to lead and who takes advantage of their opportunities. However, the overwhelming feeling within the squad is that this Rachel, A special time for Leah and Hugo, and we all at Sydney Thunder couldn’t be happier for them.
“I have no doubt that this team, with the addition of our Indian internationals Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma, will be able to go out and continue the performance and growth that Rachel has built under her leadership.”
Apart from Rachel, her Australian team-mates Megan Schutt and Erin Burns will miss the opening matches of their respective teams Adelaide Strikers and Sydney Sixers due to personal reasons.
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