Focusing on basics key: Rachael Haynes

Rachael Haynes has played a majority of her 51 ODIs against England and New Zealand (35). She has played just a couple of ODIs against West Indies in which she has one fifty. She is yet to play an ODI in the Caribbean while the T20 World Cup last year was her first trip to the Windies. If she plays in the first ODI on September 5, it will be her maiden game in the format in this country.



“It’s really nice to be back. Almost hard to believe that it has been 12 months since we were last here,” said Haynes, who is the vice-captain of Australia. “It’s nice and familiar to have our first training at the ground where we won the World Cup.”



Erin Burns and Heather Graham are the two uncapped players in the touring party. Haynes said the pair's presence has brought a new energy to the squad. “They are fresh faces and are excited to be here. It's always good to have new people providing good energy to the group,” she said. “They both are all-rounders. So, (they offer) a bit of versatility both with bat and ball. It will be interesting to see how it all fits in.”



The Australians are back to being on the road after less than a month’s break since their last assignment– a successful multi-format Ashes campaign. When quizzed about whether it gets too hectic, Haynes said, “It’s part and parcel these days. Everything we ever wanted is (to) have some opportunities as often as we can. We are doing that now and it is great to get another chance to tour the West Indies.”



The tracks in Australia offer pace and bounce. In a stark contrast, the ones in the West Indies are slow and low. “The wickets here are slower than back at home. But the silver lining is that we are coming from England and those wickets are pretty similar,” she said. “This next week will be about finding the right lengths with the ball and with the bat, getting your timing and those sorts of things. We have got plenty of time to adjust and we are coming from conditions that were very similar.”



Staying true to the culture in the Caribbean, the Aussies are looking to the adapt the ‘when in Rome…’ adage. “There are some  pretty nice beaches to go and sit on. Such a relaxed place to tour. The people here are lovely and we really enjoy the opportunities we have to come to places like these,” stated Haynes. “No doubt we’ll get some opportunities to get out and look around. For now we are looking to switch on and get to the cricket side of things.”



Shakiba Gajnabi, the 19-year-old Guyanese right-arm seamer, has earned her maiden call-up to the West Indies team. Apart from her, Reniece Boyce, who’s played just the lone ODI so far is also in the squad. So the Australians will have to tackle some fairly unknown commodities in the series.



However, Haynes said Australia is unperturbed by these things. She talked about keeping things simple and sticking to the basics. “We are giving ourselves a little bit of time to assess what’s happening in the game, whether it be as a batter or a bowler. I think we’ll keep things nice and simple in that perspective rather than over complicate it,” she said. “There will be unique challenges throughout the series, no doubt and we are looking forward to it.”



Admittedly, it isn’t difficult to switch off and on from the game in this part of the world according to Haynes. She would do well to be switched on when her time to bat comes; for, she didn’t have the greatest of ODI series against England last month.