The final three ICC occasions have proven that Australia is aware of a factor or two about overcoming setbacks. Within the 2020 T20 World Cup Australia misplaced its opening match, whereas within the 2022 ODI World Cup and 2023 T20 World Cup, it misplaced its warm-up matches, however recovered when it mattered to romp to the titles.
Nevertheless, within the ongoing Ladies’s T20 World Cup, it’s confronted with extra misfortune because the defending champion is confronted with probably dropping Tayla Vlaeminck and skipper Alyssa Healy to accidents throughout its thrashing of Pakistan by 9 wickets in Dubai on Friday.
Aussies know too effectively that lightning can strike the identical particular person consistently, making it onerous for them to reside out their sporting goals. Take Will Pucovski. With 13 concussion experiences, he was pressured to think about retirement for his personal welfare by Cricket Australia’s medical panel. On the opposite aspect of the aisle is Vlaeminck, whose start-stop profession has as soon as once more been rocked by a serious damage.
Vlaeminck missed the final three World Cups resulting from damage and was raring to go forward of this one the place the Aussies have been vying for his or her fourth T20 World title in a row. However that dream got here crashing down when she dislocated her shoulder whereas making an attempt to cease a boundary from Muneeba Ali within the fourth ball of the Pakistan innings.
Rotten luck once more
A thick exterior edge off Muneeba’s bat shot previous the bottom, with Vlaeminck giving chase. Nevertheless, as she slid all the way down to scoop the ball away from the rope, her left knee dug into the turf and he or she fell on her proper bowling arm which prolonged awkwardly, leaving her writhing in ache previous the boundary pads. Involved teammates seemed on because the physios rushed to her. Sophie Molineux, who was with Vlaeminck, seemed deeply apprehensive, as did skipper Healy.
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It was heartbreak for the 25-year-old Vlaeminck, who was taking part in solely the second World Cup recreation of her profession and her first since 2018. Vlaeminck got here into the senior aspect that yr having already undergone two ACL reconstructions. She first dislocated her left shoulder whereas taking part in for Victoria within the 2017/18 season. She suffered a second dislocation to the identical arm throughout final yr’s Ladies’s Ashes which mandated surgical procedure.
Within the images of the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia, Vlaeminck could be seen sporting a moon boot after struggling stress fractures to her foot. The identical damage additionally dominated her out of the 2022 ODI WC in New Zealand, the Commonwealth Video games and the 2023 T20 World Cup in South Africa.
The recurring foot points – a persistent damage to the navicular bone – prompted the Australian medical aspect to look exterior the field for options together with enlisting the providers of Dr. Sue Mayes, Principal Physiotherapist of The Australian Ballet.
“With a navicular damage, it’s actually all about simply ensuring that in every single place alongside the chain within the legs, what we name the kinetic chain, is environment friendly and the touchdown drive is dissipated,” group physio Kate Beerworth had mentioned in 2021.
The main focus was on the muscle groups in her toes – known as intrinsics – and guaranteeing the assist to the bone was strengthened. Her rehab additionally concerned working intensively on strengthening her calves, hip and up the trunk in order that she may land to bowl with out placing an excessive amount of drive on the within a part of her foot.
The pacer, who has registered spectacular speeds within the 120 kmph vary, got here into this World Cup eyeing a shot at breaching the 130 kmph barrier. She managed spectacular returns with the ball in Australia’s tour of Bangladesh earlier this yr and with the A-side in opposition to Minnu Mani-led India A at house a couple of months in the past.
Her blinder to dismiss Shuba Satheesh, with the ball darting into the stumps leaving the opener bamboozled underlined simply what Vlaeminck is able to when her physique cooperates.
Nevertheless, in her first World Cup recreation of the match, she didn’t even get to bowl. It was a merciless flip of destiny for somebody who has solely ever needed to compete.
As she was being attended, Ellyse Perry – sensing the temper of the group and seeing the apprehensive faces round – drew the group right into a huddle.
“It’s clearly horrible seeing certainly one of your mates go down and realizing Tay’s highway to get again right here, she’s somebody that most likely works more durable than anybody else I do know. So to see somebody like that go down with one other damage… all of us actually really feel for her,” Ashleigh Gardner mentioned after the sport.
“We needed to regroup actually rapidly and Pez introduced us all in and reverted to the Mackay incident (from a couple of weeks in the past the place Gardner and Georgia Wareham collided in coaching, triggering an damage scare earlier than the World Cup apart from prompting the previous’s withdrawal from the primary T20I vs NZ). That erupted fairly rapidly and the concept (of remembering that) was to ensure everybody was okay and simply obtained on with it.
“Tay is in good spirits which is sweet to see.”
Stability disrupted?
Nevertheless, the night time solely obtained progressively worse for the Aussies with skipper Healy sustaining an damage to her foot as she took cost of hacking down the 83-run goal as rapidly as potential.
Within the tenth over, Healy appeared to have stepped the incorrect means and ended up hobbling again to the crease, grimacing in ache all by means of. Nevertheless, preliminary checks have thrown up an acute foot damage which can want shut monitoring over the subsequent few days.
Australia skipper Healy (L) walks away as she retires out through the match in opposition to Pakistan.
| Picture Credit score:
AP
Australia skipper Healy (L) walks away as she retires out through the match in opposition to Pakistan.
| Picture Credit score:
AP
“We misplaced Tayla fairly early within the recreation, which was fairly devastating. The gamers have been most likely fairly shaken on the market and he or she’s obtained a dislocated shoulder that’s now again in place. That’s only a matter of assessing that within the subsequent 24 hours and form of seeing the place that finally ends up. Alyssa coming off on the finish with a foot damage as effectively… it’s fairly early days,” coach Shelly Nitschke mentioned after the sport.
Nitschke held again from committing to any personnel adjustments in mild of the 2 casualties within the lineup. Healy, specifically, sitting out not solely disrupts fielding steadiness with probably Beth Mooney having to step up with the gloves but additionally takes out an aggressive batter who loves the high-pressure stakes of a match’s enterprise finish.
There may be the choice to fly in replacements too with the likes of Georgia Redmayne and Jess Jonassen ready within the wings, however that’s a name for after the group will get some readability concerning the two accidents. Till then, Nitschke is specializing in not taking up any extra nervousness than what’s required.
Australia takes on India in its last group fixture within the Ladies’s T20 World Cup in Sharjah on Sunday. With three wins in three video games to this point, the defending champion is comfortably positioned within the semifinal race.
The aspect is not any stranger to late damage hiccups having misplaced Perry to a hamstring damage mid-tournament in 2020. That mentioned, the Aussies will hope for excellent news about its chief, specifically, because the match nears its do-or-die part.