Tayla Vlaeminck suffers injury setback in bid to make top-tier return

Tayla Vlaeminck has suffered a setback in her bid to return to international cricket from injury.

Vlaeminck, the 24-year-old right-arm quick from Australia, suffered instability in her left shoulder while bowling for Australia A in a 50-over match against England A on Sunday, the final game of their tour which ran alongside the early stages of the Women’s Ashes.

She will be assessed further upon returning to Australia in a few weeks’ time and it is hoped the problem is just a minor blip on what has otherwise been an encouraging return to action after a lengthy battle with a foot injury.

Vlaeminck was one of the fastest bowlers in the women’s game before suffering a recurrence of a stress fracture in the navicular bone of her right foot, which kept her out of two T20 World Cups either side of the ODI edition in 2022. She made the last of her 24 appearances for Australia during the 2012-22 Women’s Ashes.

Some 18 months on, she played for Australia A in a T20 at Loughborough on June 21, picking up a wicket. She claimed three more wickets, one in each of her next three games for Australia A – a T20 followed by two 50-over fixtures – but was injured during the last of those at Guildford, where she bowled just 2.4 overs for figures of 1 for 23.

Vlaeminck has worked closely with Cricket Australia and Cricket Victoria, remodelling her action to try and prevent a recurrence of her foot injury, as well as working with the Australian Ballet to develop strength in the area. Previously she had endured two knee reconstructions, a dislocated shoulder and a partial anterior cruciate ligament strain.

Speaking after Vlaeminck’s comeback match in June, Shawn Flegler, Cricket Australia’s Female High Performance and Talent Manager, said that while it was tempting to hope she could play a part in either of two upcoming Tests for Australia, in India towards the end of the year and against South Africa in Perth in February, that was not a priority.

“We will just focus on white-ball stuff for the time being,” Flegler said. “That’s all I have said to her. Let’s get through that. She has to build confidence again that she can get through two games, and get her through a tour, and keep reassessing as time goes on.”

Australia A swept the three-match 50-over series, while England A won the T20s 3-0.