Vlaeminck feels the need for speed in long-awaited return

Tayla Vlaeminck laughed it off as "TV kilometers", but the Melbourne Renegades' fast bowler was giving the speed gun a workout in her long-anticipated return to the WBBL on Thursday.

Playing her first Big Bash match since she lined up for the Hurricanes in November 2021, and her first for the Renegades since 2018, Vlaeminck bowled with heat against the Sydney Thunder, capturing 2-23 from her four overs.

In her first over, Vlaeminck hit a top recorded speed of 125.3kph, alongside deliveries clocked at 122.4, 122.3, 113.7, 123.5 and 120.6.

While the Renegades came out on the wrong side of a six-wicket defeat, there was cause to celebrate when Vlaeminck knocked over Anika Learoyd's stumps before having Laura Harris caught.

"It was good fun," Vlaeminck told cricket.com.au post-match. "Obviously would have been nice to get the win, but Georgia Wareham's hundredth game, was nice to be out there for that, and it's just a nice feeling.

"I didn't want to think too much about it beforehand and when I got out there it was just nice to have the ball back in my hand. I was actually quite nervous before the game but when I got out there I was actually just excited.

"I think that's one of the best feelings in cricket, to be honest, if you run in and get a wicket and all the girls get around you.

"That's what all the hard work's been for."

For the 28-year-old - at her best one of the world's fastest bowlers - a return to bowling at full speed would be a relief following a prolonged recovery from the shoulder surgery she underwent after injuring the joint at the T20 World Cup in October, 2024.

Rating the injury as one of the most frustrating of her career - a big call, given the amount of time Vlaeminck has spent on the sidelines through ruptured ACLs, shoulder injuries and two serious foot injuries - Vlaeminck was struggling to reach anything approaching her previous full pace when she initially resumed bowling last summer.

It had left her fearing she would never get back to where she had been pre-injury, but after another break from bowling, Vlaeminck turned the corner earlier this year. 

"You always get a few TV k's, to be fair," Vlaeminck said of the speeds she was clocked at on Thursday. "(But) if you had told me that I'd be bowling that quick, probably eight months ago, I would have been like 'not a chance'.

"I still remember bowling up in the nets at the NCC, and I literally couldn't even make it down the other end. And I remember our physio at the time, she just told me to focus on line and length, and I almost turned and clocked her one.

"So if I had known this would be happening now, I wouldn't have believed it to be honest."

Vlaeminck played her first game post-injury in April, making a carefully managed appearance in the three-day Green v Gold game. She then spent time in the UK during the winter training with Yorkshire to avoid the Melbourne winter, before travelling to India with Australia A in September.

Now a return to Australian wickets has her excited.

"Over in India where I played the last little bit, they weren't the quickest wickets, and not conducive for fast bowling," she said.

"So I was just looking forward to getting back to here to some nice pacey wickets, and the WACA's not going to be bad either for the next game, so I'm looking forward to that.

"That first game you come back and feel like you want to be back at your best and I think it takes a few more games than you think.

"So I've just been trying to not be too hard on myself, just enjoy being out there and know that the more I can be out there and the more consistently I can get out there, it's going to pay off in the end."

Weber WBBL|12 Standings

Round 1

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	Drawn D	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Batting Bonus Bat	Bowling Bonus Bowl	Total points PTS
1 Perth Scorchers Women SCO	1	1	0	0	0	0	3.422	0	0	0	2
2 Sydney Thunder Women THU	1	1	0	0	0	0	1.335	0	0	0	2
3 Adelaide Strikers Women STR	1	1	0	0	0	0	1.05	0	0	0	2
4 Sydney Sixers Women SIX	1	1	0	0	0	0	0.15	0	0	0	2
5 Melbourne Stars Women STA	2	1	1	0	0	0	-0.075	0	0	0	2
6 Brisbane Heat Women HEA	1	0	1	0	0	0	-0.15	0	0	0	0
7 Hobart Hurricanes Women HUR	1	0	1	0	0	0	-0.9	0	0	0	0
8 Melbourne Renegades Women REN	2	0	2	0	0	0	-2.265	0	0	0	0

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

D: Drawn

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

Bat: Batting Bonus

Bowl: Bowling Bonus

PTS: Total points