Christchurch: Australian opener Rachael Haynes on Sunday broke the long-standing record of New Zealand great Debbie Hockley by scoring the most runs ever at an ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, during the final against England at the Hagley Oval.
The 35-year-old Haynes, a veteran of 76 WODIs, overtook the record of Hockley (456 runs at the 1997 World Cup) when she cut England’s Charlie Dean to the boundary during her innings at Christchurch.
Many batters had come close to beating Hockley’s record of almost 25 years, with England’s Tammy Beaumont scoring 410 runs at the 2017 edition and South Africa opener Laura Wolvaardt wasn’t far off this year.
Wolvaardt had 433 runs heading into South Africa’s semifinal against England but was dismissed for a duck in the semifinal clash as the Proteas were eliminated.
That paved the way for Haynes to claim the record as she maintained her excellent tournament to date with another strong contribution in Sunday’s final. The left-hander hit a superb 130 in the tournament opener against England, which Australia won by 12 runs, and scored another two half-centuries prior to the final.
Haynes was eventually dismissed for 68 runs in the final, caught by Tammy Beaumont off Sophie Ecclestone, taking her tally to 497 runs for the tournament at an impressive average of 71.
Australia were cruising along nicely for a mammoth total, having lost just one wicket after 43.1 overs with their score reading 280/1. Opener Alyssa Healy was unbeaten on 147, while Beth Mooney was not out on 51.
