Having missed both the 2020 T20 World Cup and 2022 ODI World Cup, she has her sights set on the upcoming world tournament.
Andrew McGlashan
Tayla Vlaeminck made her debut for Australia in October 2018. In the five-and-a-half years since then, she has played in just 24 games and has seen little, if any, improvement in her form. Her series of injuries and her heartbreaking experience, which saw her miss multiple World Cup appearances, will test anyone's faith.
She is looking to restart her international career once again after being recalled for Australia's tour of Bangladesh later this month. This comes just after she suffered a shoulder injury in England last year and was sidelined for another six months. After that, he suffered repeated setbacks due to stress fractures in his foot, first forcing him to withdraw from the 2020 T20 World Cup held in his home country, then relapse, leading to the 2022 ODI World Cup, 2022 Commonwealth Games, and 2023 T20 World Cup. I couldn't participate in the World Cup. And even before making her debut for Australia, she had undergone two anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions.
Ahead of his departure on Saturday, Vlaeminck said returning to Australia had always been his motivation, but during his rehabilitation he was looking for someone who would spend his time helping them rather than training for himself. He admitted that there were times when he wasn't able to train for his team. she.
“I always had the biggest goal of coming back to play for Australia, but that has wavered at different times over the last few years…I think the motivation has always been different and it wasn't always there. This is going to be 'make it all worth it,''' she told ESPNcricinfo.
“My rock bottom moment was probably just people.” [around me] To tell the truth.They learn about our S&C and even train hard for a few days. [strength and conditioning coach] He was very focused and organized the session and came early to finish it. It's small things like that that sometimes make me want to do sessions for them more than myself.
“I've been really lucky. I've had a lot of really good people around me in Victoria who have helped me. Without that kind of help, I don't know if the motivation would have always been there.”
Vlaeminck returned during the WNCL in mid-January and appeared in five matches in the second half of Victoria's campaign, picking up four wickets. Last week she took part in the three-day Green vs Gold match in Adelaide, marking the first time she has bowled with the red ball since the 2019 Ashes.
But now his focus is firmly back on the white ball, with another T20 World Cup in his sights later this year. “I want to play in the World Cup. That's one of the things that keeps me going,” she said.
She has come back twice from stress fractures in her foot, and Australian Ballet has helped her recover, but this setback was different. That said, when she first dislocated her left shoulder while playing for Victoria in 2017, she knew something was lurking around the corner for her -18 The season remained vulnerable to popping out of her joint. She suffered a dislocation while bowling during the England A tour that coincided with last year's Ashes, and Vlaeminck knew she had to get it properly immobilized.
“I was frustrated because I had just come back, but it took another six months.” [out]I knew it didn't come out of the blue, so it probably wasn't that hard to deal with,” she said.
Before his latest rehabilitation, Vlaeminck had already done significant work modifying his movements to avoid recurrence of the stress fracture in his foot. She is confident that her pace will not be affected and she believes that she is returning to her peak even more from now on.
“It wasn't something I was too concerned about, but something I considered when changing my behavior,” she said. “I want to be on the pitch as much as possible, but I don't want to compromise on dropping 10km/h. I'm really confident in my current condition. I'm probably at the same level as before. I hope I can get used to it after a little more time.” Actions and run-ups is now even faster. ”
“That's something I'm going to have to manage for the rest of my career. If you've been bowling a certain way for seven or eight years, it's obviously hard to change so you have to make sure you don't fall back into bad habits. There is a competitive environment in the game. [But] When the day of the game comes around, I don't think about it much. ”
She tries not to get too caught up in other fast bowlers pushing their speed guns, but admits it's difficult at times. “I'm pretty competitive, so I like to bowl as fast as I can…think [the number of quicks] “It's really good for the game,'' she said, “Victoria has Millie Illingworth and to see her run in and stand at square leg.'' It's always fun and things like that always cheer me up a little bit.”
The tour to Bangladesh will see her return to Australia with close friends Georgia Wareham and Sophie Molyneux. The trio watched the 2022 ODI World Cup final together when they all got injured.
“I remember that day, but it probably wasn't the best day,” Vlaeminck said. “We've been through a lot together, grown together and all helped each other along the way. If we get to play together in Bangladesh, it's going to be pretty special.”
However, just being on a plane is enough to start with. “Honestly, I'm hoping this week ends quickly. I'd love to be able to get on the field a little bit. It'll be really fun just to go out there and train with the girls again.”
Andrew McGlashan is ESPNcricinfo's deputy editor.