'Want to play the 2024 T20 World Cup' - Vlaeminck ready to relaunch injury-hit career

Tayla Vlaeminck made her debut for Australia in October 2018. In the five-and-a-half years since she has made just 24 appearances and very little, if any of it, has been down to form. Her run of injuries, and the heartbreak of missing multiple World Cups, would test the belief of anyone.

Later this month, she will try again to relaunch her international career having been recalled for Australia's tour of Bangladesh. It comes shortly after another six months on the sidelines with a shoulder injury picked up in England last year. That followed multiple setbacks with stress fractures of her foot which first forced her out of the 2020 T20 World Cup on home soil with a recurrence then keeping her out of the 2022 ODI World Cup, 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2023 T20 World Cup. And even before she debuted for Australia she had undergone two ACL reconstructions.

Ahead of flying out on Saturday, Vlaeminck admitted that while returning to Australia colours was always a motivation, there were times in the depth of her rehab that she wasn't so much training for herself, as for those putting in the hours in to help her.

"I've always had the overarching goal of getting back to play for Australia but at different times over the last few years it has wavered…the motivation has always been different, it hasn't always been there, I suppose, but this will make it all worth it," she told ESPNcricinfo.

"In the lower moments it's probably just been the people [around me] to be honest. Even to the extent of rocking up to training some days knowing our S&C [strength and conditioning coach] is so invested the whole time, has put a session together and come in early to get it done. It's those little things, you want to do the session for them more so than yourself sometimes.

"I've been really lucky, had a heap of really good people around Victoria who have helped me through. Without that sort of help not sure the motivation would always have been there."

Vlaeminck returned during the WNCL in mid-January, playing five matches in the latter part of Victoria's campaign where she claimed four wickets. Last week she was part of the Green vs Gold three-day game in Adelaide - the first time she had bowled with a red-ball since the 2019 Ashes.

Now, though, the focus returns firmly to the white ball with another T20 World Cup to aim for later in the year. "I want to play in that World Cup, it's one of things that has kept me going," she said.

Having twice returned from stress fractures of her foot - with the Australian ballet playing a part in her recovery - the latest setback was a different one, although something she knew was lurking around the corner having initially dislocated her left shoulder playing for Victoria in the 2017-18 season and it remained vulnerable to popping out of the joint. During the A tour of England last year, which ran concurrently with the Ashes, it dislocated while bowling and Vlaeminck knew she had to get it properly fixed.

"While it was annoying as I'd just come back, and it was another six months [out], it probably wasn't as hard to deal with knowing that it hadn't come out of the blue," she said.

Before her latest rehab, Vlaeminck had already done significant work remodeling her action to try and avoid a repeat of the stress fractures in her foot. She remains confident that her pace has not been impacted and believes she is getting back to her peak with more to come.

"It's something I wasn't so much worried about but considered as I changed my action," she said. "I want to be on the pitch as much as possible but don't want to compromise losing 10kph. I'm really confident with where it's at now, probably a similar level to what it was beforehand. Hopefully with some more time getting used to the action and the run-up I can get even quicker."

"It's is something I'll have to manage for the rest of my career. When you've been bowling a certain way for seven or eight years that's obviously difficult to change, so making sure it doesn't slip back into bad habits in the competitive environment of a game. [But] once it gets to game day I don't think about it too much."

She tries not to get too wrapped up in what other quick bowlers are pushing the speed gun to, although admitted it's sometimes difficult. "I am quite a competitive person so like to try and bowl as fast as I can…think it [the number of quicks] is really good for the game," she said. "We've got Milly Illingworth at Victoria and it's always fun when you are stood at square leg watching her run in and that sort of thing always gets me a bit up and about."

The tour of Bangladesh also brings her back together for Australia with close friends Georgia Wareham and Sophie Molineux. The trio watched the 2022 ODI World Cup final together when they were all injured.

"I remember that day, probably wasn't one of the best," Vlaeminck said. "We've been through a lot together, grown up together, and all helped each other along the way. If we all got to play together in Bangladesh it would be pretty special."

For starters, though, being on the plane is enough. "Just want this week to go pretty quickly to be honest. I'll be happy if I get on the pitch at all. Just getting over there and training with the girls again will be really fun."