World’s top-ranked T20I allrounder to miss WBBL|11 due to shoulder surgery
Melbourne Renegades’ Weber WBBL title defence has been dealt a blow with West Indies captain Hayley Matthews ruled out of the upcoming season, just hours before the WBBL Draft.
Matthews, one of the key architects of last year’s championship, had signed on as the club’s pre-draft recruit, penning a fresh two-year deal.
However, the world’s top-ranked T20I allrounder has been forced to pull out and is set to have surgery on the shoulder she injured in the West Indies’ recent ODI series against England.
Matthews will continue to captain the West Indies in their home T20 series against South Africa as well as play in the Caribbean Premier League. But with the team not involved in this year’s ODI World Cup, Matthews will then have shoulder surgery that will put her out of action for the remainder of the year.
Matthews would have been allocated one of the Renegades’ picks at today’s Big Bash drafts, but the club will now have all three of their overseas slots to fill at the event in Melbourne.
“We are clearly disappointed Hayley won’t be with us this season,” Renegades General Manager James Rosengarten said. “She’s been instrumental during her time with the Renegades, not just with her performances but with her leadership and professionalism.
“There’s a very close relationship between the Renegades and Hayley and we know it will continue next year and beyond. Hayley loves this club and we share in her disappointment at not being available for this year’s tournament.”
Her absence will be a bitter blow for the club after she played a significant role in the Renegades’ remarkable resurgence last season, as they recovered from a bottom-placed finish in WBBL|09 to win their maiden title at the MCG.
Matthews produced a career-best campaign in WBBL|10, scoring 324 runs at a strike rate of 130.6 and 14 wickets, a haul that earned selection in the WBBL|10 Team of the Tournament.
She saved her best for last, scoring a crucial 69 from 61 deliveries before snaring 2-24 to claim player-of-the-match honours in the Renegades’ seven-run win over the Brisbane Heat in the decider.
The Renegades will have picks No.7, No.15, No.18 and No.31 in the WBBL draft.
The club is also expected to reveal more local signings in the coming weeks, with the star Aussie trio of Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham and Tayla Vlaeminck among those whose contracts were set to expire at the end of WBBL|10.
While Molineux’s re-signing has not been officially confirmed, the Renegades captain is attending the draft alongside coach Simon Helmot.
They have already added rising allrounder Tess Flintoff to their ranks after she moved across from Melbourne Stars, while Ella Hayward and Georgia Prestwidge have departed the Renegades to join their cross-town rivals.
