Hurricanes poach young Aussie quick

Tayla Vlaeminck is the latest big name to join the Hobart Hurricanes, with the young quick to continue her Rebel WBBL|05 career in purple after an injury-plagued stint with the Melbourne Renegades. 

The 20-year-old took four wickets for the Renegades in her long-awaited WBBL debut last summer, before a knee injury sustained at training cut short her season after six matches. 

Vlaeminck, having battled through two knee reconstructions and a dislocated shoulder, has been working hard to reverse her fortunes and will be hoping that a move down south will cultivate an injury-free season. 

"I'd heard all about the great things happening with the female program down in Tasmania from a few players so when I heard of their interest I was really excited about the move south," Vlaeminck said.

One of the fastest bowlers in the game and a member of Australia’s National Performance Squad, Vlaeminck has already proved herself on the world stage. 

The Bendigo product earned her first Australia ODI cap against Pakistan back in October, with a T20I cap following shortly after at the T20 World Cup in the West Indies. 

Remarkably, both these milestones came before Vlaeminck’s WBBL debut.

Vlaeminck, who has been sidelined since December, has drawn plenty of praise, not only for the raw pace she elicits, but for her persistence through multiple serious injuries.

Using her time away from the game to recover and strengthen her body, Vlaeminck is looming as a potential dark-horse for Australia’s Ashes squad expected to be announced this week. 

"I've seen her in the nets (at Junction Oval) quite a few times now and I've had a chance to see just how she's worked with her rehab over the last couple of months,” Australia allrounder Ellyse Perry told cricket.com.au last month. 

"She's incredibly positive about everything, it's quite infectious in a lot of ways,” said Perry. 

Having already experienced a chunk of success at an international level at such a young age, WBBL rivals will be wary of Vlaeminck’s potential on the domestic scene should she be fit and firing come October. 

With Australia contracted Nicola Carey already announced as a new signing, the Hobart Hurricanes are poised for their biggest season yet. 

"We identified the need to add some more pace to complement our attack and Tayla definitely brings that," Hurricanes head coach Salliann Briggs said. 

"We're really pleased one of the rising stars of Australian cricket will continue her development as a Hurricanes player."

The Women’s Big Bash season is set to commence in October, with the tournament to be played in its own standalone window for the first time. Fixtures are expected to be released next week.