Melbourne Renegades have confirmed that Tayla Vlaeminck will miss the 10th edition of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), marking her third consecutive season sidelined due to injury.
Vlaeminck suffered a shoulder dislocation while fielding against Pakistan in a Group A match at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup this month and will not be able to participate in WBBL|10.
The 25-year-old fast bowler has endured an unfortunate run of injuries, preventing her from playing in the WBBL since November 2021 when she represented Hobart Hurricanes. Vlaeminck had signed with the Renegades ahead of the 2022-23 season but is yet to play for the team after representing them in the 2018-19 season.
After playing for the Hurricanes across two seasons, Vlaeminck returned to Renegades on a two-year deal. However, she missed the entirety of the 2022-23 season while recovering from a navicular stress fracture in her right foot, the same injury that ruled her out of Australia’s home T20 World Cup in 2020.
Despite making a long-awaited return to international cricket in March 2024 during Australia’s tour of Bangladesh and impressing with her pace in the Australia A series against India A in August, Vlaeminck’s injury troubles have continued with her current shoulder dislocation. Even in the past she has dislocated her left shoulder twice — first while playing for Victoria in the 2017-18 season, and again during the Australia A tour of England in 2022, leading to corrective surgery.
Vlaeminck’s career has been plagued by injuries since before her international debut in 2018. She has undergone two ACL reconstructions and suffered multiple stress fractures in her foot, which forced her to miss the 2020 T20 World Cup, the 2022 ODI World Cup, the Commonwealth Games, and the 2023 T20 World Cup. As part of her rehabilitation, she even trained with professional dancers at the Australian Ballet to strengthen her foot.
In her career so far, Vlaeminck has represented Australia in 1 Test, 8 ODIs, and 20 T20Is, claiming 25 wickets across formats (7 in ODIs, 18 in T20Is). In the WBBL, she has played 33 matches for Hobart Hurricanes and Melbourne Renegades, taking 27 wickets with a best of 4/29.
Her absence is a major blow for the Renegades, who were counting on her express pace to strengthen their bowling attack. With their first match of the season against the Sydney Sixers on October 27th, the Renegades will need to rethink their strategy for the upcoming campaign.
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