The Melbourne Renegades have announced that Hayley Matthews will be taking over the captaincy duties this season in the absence of Sophie Molineux. Molineux is unavailable to play this season due to an ACL injury.
Matthews currently leads the West Indies side in all three formats and has been in excellent form. In 27 innings as captain, she has amassed 971 runs at an average of 40.45 and a strike rate of 120.62. Moreover, she was excellent in the recently concluded T20I series against Australia scoring 310 runs and breaking the record for most runs scored in a series.
She has an impressive record in the WBBL as well where she has played for the Hobart Hurricanes and Renegades. She has scored 1118 runs with a high score of 77 and has taken 50 wickets with best figures of 3/15. Last season, she hit 253 runs, took 9 wickets, and won both the games where she was captain.
WBBL 2023: Introducing the captains!
Who's your pick for winning the championship? 🏆 #CricketTwitter #WBBL09 | 📸: Getty pic.twitter.com/N9DDYlsom1
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) October 17, 2023
Regarding Matthew’s appointment as captain, Renegades General Manager James Rosengarten said, “While it is disappointing to not have Sophie for the WBBL|09 season, we’re lucky to have such an experienced leader in Hayley ready to step up. As the West Indian captain, Hayley was the obvious choice to take over in Sophie’s absence, and impressed us last season when she led the side at the back-end of WBBL|08.”
The Renegades will kick off their campaign against the Brisbane Heat on Friday 20th October.
Melbourne Renegades’ W-BBL 09 Squad (so far):
Hayley Matthews (C), Tammy Beaumont, Sarah Coyte, Emma De Broughe, Josie Dooley, Jess Duffin, Ella Hayward, Ellie Falconer, Harmanpreet Kaur, Erica Kershaw, Hayley Matthews, Sophie Molineux, Rhiann O’Donnell, Georgia Prestwidge, Georgia Wareham, Courtney Webb.
(Quotes sourced from Melbourne Renegades media release)
Vaishnavi is a passionate author with an unwavering love for cricket, particularly women’s cricket. Her writing reflects her deep admiration for the sport and her dedication to promoting women’s participation in it. When she’s not following the latest cricket matches, Vaishnavi can be found engrossed in books or enjoying movies.
