Vlaeminck dislocates shoulder on T20 World Cup return

Vlaeminck was attempting to stop a boundary off Muneeba Ali’s fine edge on just the fourth ball of the match in Dubai on Friday. Running back from short third, Vlaeminck slid but her knee got stuck in the turf as she reached for the ball and flicked it back before tumbling over the rope, crying out and clutching at her shoulder as she did so.

Lying on the boundary’s edge clearly in distress as Australia team medical staff rushed to her aid, captain Alyssa Healy looked visibly concerned.

Vlaeminck’s shoulder was later relocated and the extent of the injury will be known following further assessment in the coming days.

She had come into the side for the big-hitting Grace Harris, adding pace in what Healy described as an “impact for impact” swap in Australia’s first match of the tournament at the ground, having opened their campaign with wins against Sri Lanka and New Zealand on a slower pitch in Sharjah.

It is the latest in a long line of injuries for 25-year-old Vlaeminck, playing her first World Cup match since 2018, Australia’s group game against India, and only the second of her career.

Vlaeminck dislocated her left shoulder playing for Victoria in the 2017-18 season. Then, during the Australia A tour of England which coincided with last year’s Women’s Ashes, she dislocated the same shoulder again while bowling, which led to corrective surgery.

Before she made her debut for Australia, in 2018, she had undergone two ACL reconstructions. Stress fractures in her foot also forced her to miss the 2020 home T20 World Cup as well as the 2022 ODI World Cup, the Commonwealth Games later that year and the 2023 T20 World Cup. Her foot injuries led her to spend time training with professional dancers at the Australian Ballet as part of her rehab work.

Valkerie Baynes is a general editor, women’s cricket, at ESPNcricinfo