Pace ace to tear into season fresh

FREE from the fears of injury which curtailed her for several seasons, pace sensation Tayla Vlaeminck is set to ignite the Hobart Hurricanes in the upcoming WBBL.

Regarded as the fastest female bowler in the country and one of the world’s quickest, Vlaeminck joins the Hurricanes on the back of making her Test debut during the mid-year Ashes tour and featuring in the recent ODI series against Sri Lanka.

After suffering two knee reconstructions and a dislocated shoulder in the past four years, the highly touted prospect has been unable to stay on the park consistently to fulfil her enormous potential.

But having emerged from her biggest block of consistent cricket unscathed, the 20-year-old is ready to strike fear into the opposition when the tournament kicks off this weekend.

“The more cricket I’ve been able to play in the last six months, it’s given me a lot more confidence in my body,” Vlaeminck said.

“I try and play it down [her raw pace] but the girls give me a lot of stick about it. As long as I’m running in and bowling as fast as I can and doing what the team needs me to do, which is to do that, and bowl a few short ones here and there, and a few yorkers, I’m happy.

“I suppose it is a little bit different in the sense that I was injured a lot so I kind of never really knew how quick I bowled, I probably had three years where I only bowled two or three months in that time so I didn’t really know.

“Then when I got back into it, it gradually just started to get quicker and quicker the more cricket I played and the more I was able to bowl.

“Now it is just good fun, I love bowling and my favourite days are just running in and letting rip.”

Vlaeminck joins the Hurricanes after spending time on the Melbourne Renegades list, and will form an impressive bowling unit which includes fellow speedster Belinda Vakarewa.

After two substandard seasons in the WBBL the Hurricanes are looking to return to the form which took them to consecutive finals campaigns in the first two editions, and Vlae

“As long as I’m running in and bowling as fast as I can and ... bowl a few short ones and a few yorkers, I’m happy” TAYLA VLAEMINCK

minck is confident the group can deliver.

“We’ve got a really good squad lined up this year and I’m really excited about the potential.

“The experiences of Heather Knight and Fran Wilson, who are obviously experienced England top order batters, that’s what we needed, a few more runs.

“I haven’t really spoken much about what my role will be, hopefully it’s just to run in with the new ball and try to take wickets, which is what I will try and do.

“I suppose the more wickets you can take early on in the game, you win more games than you lose.”