Australian speedster Tayla Vlaeminck improvises in hotel quarantine ahead of India series
The Aussie women’s cricket team is not permitted to train during their two-week quarantine, and they’ve been forced to improvise.
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With a number of cushions piled up against her hotel wall, Australian speedster Tayla Vlaeminck prepares for the summer of cricket by repeatedly bowling into the stack off one step.
“I don’t know who’s on that side,” she says, pointing over her shoulder. “But whoever it is, they’re going to cop 36 bangs into their wall.”
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Vlaeminck, along with several of her Australian teammates, are undergoing a strict 14-day quarantine in Queensland ahead of a multi-format series against India.
The matches were originally scheduled to take place in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth but the latest Covid-19 outbreak forced the fixtures to be moved to the Sunshine State at the 11th hour.
The Australian team was not granted permission to train during its two-week hotel quarantine, meaning the players have had to improvise to keep their bodies active.
“You’re just trying to be as creative as you can,” Vlaeminck explains. “I’ve got a decent-sized little floor space. We’ve got a weight, and we’re pretty much Googling stuff we can do with it.
“We’ve got no fresh air either, so it gets a bit hot and sweaty in here when you’re trying to train.”
An alarm sounds inside her hotel room without warning whenever she is permitted to open her door to collect meals.
“Please ensure you don’t open your door until instructed,” the mysterious voice commands. “Make sure you’ve placed on the surgical mask you were given when you arrived at the hotel.”
Lunch today features a carton of milk, much to Vlaeminck’s surprise, but the 22-year-old concedes she might find herself scrolling the UberEats app later.
Vlaeminck will emerge from quarantine next week, seven days before the first ODI against India at Mackay’s Great Barrier Reef Arena. Although the short turnaround is far from ideal preparation ahead of the first match of a jam-packed summer, the Aussie players have zero complaints.
“We’re just extremely grateful,” Vlaeminck told news.com.au from hotel quarantine, speaking as an ambassador for Cadbury’s Women in Sport initiative.
“There was a point where it was like, ‘I don’t know whether this is actually going to happen or not’. We’re pretty lucky that we get to come up here to Queensland and get the series going.”
However, the speedster conceded it was “pretty sad” she wouldn’t get to play Test cricket under lights on the bouncy WACA deck, which has historically favoured pace bowlers. Vlaeminck is one of the country’s fastest quicks, regularly clocking speeds in excess of 120km/h.
Vlaeminck’s journey to the top
Growing up in regional Victoria, there were no girls teams within driving distance for Vlaeminck, so the teenager joined her brother’s local club in Bendigo, playing alongside the boys before progressing through the pathways system and earning selection for the Victorian under-14 side.
“I know for a lot of other young girls, (playing with boys) would be a complete turn-off,” Vlaeminck explained.
“A lot of my friends used to think the same; they used to think I was crazy.
“But now I go back home to Bendigo and drive past on a Friday night, and there’s six or seven girls teams playing cricket, which I think is pretty cool. It’s definitely changing.”
After turning heads during her maiden season in the Women’s Big Bash League, Vlaeminck was named in the Australian squad for a one-day series against Pakistan in 2018.
The right-armed seamer trapped rival captain Javeria Khan in front LBW for six, helping Australia claim a comfortable 89-run victory in Kuala Lumpur.
Vlaeminck made her 20-over international debut later that year at the Women’s T20 World Cup, where Australia claimed its fourth title in eight years.
But the career highlight came 12 months later when she was selected in the Australian XI for the 2019 Ashes Test in Taunton. Representing her country in the Baggy Green was a childhood dream for Vlaeminck, but playing four-day cricket remains a rarity for the professionals.
The Australian women’s cricket team has played six Test matches over the past decade, all against England. India’s side, meanwhile, has taken part in just three Tests since 2007.
But for the first time in more than 18 years, the national women’s team is scheduled to play two Test matches during the upcoming home summer.
“Before (the 2019 Ashes), we’d probably done four or five bowling sessions with a red ball in our lives,” Vlaeminck said.
“The majority of the cricket that we play is white-ball cricket, so you want to train and prepare for that, but then you also really want to make the opportunity count when you get it.
“Last year, for example, with no Test cricket in the summer, we wouldn’t have gotten a red ball out once, because you just don’t use it.
“The long-format of the game is something I really enjoy and I want to do more of … so hopefully if these games go well, we can get more Tests in the international schedule.”
Days out from last year’s unforgettable T20 World Cup in Australia, Vlaeminck suffered a stress fracture in her foot that ruled her out of the tournament.
But the youngster still travelled with the squad throughout the campaign, and celebrated with her teammates on the MCG after emphatically retaining the trophy.
Vlaeminck’s rehab took a turn for the worse later in 2020, and she subsequently missed most of the following summer, including the WBBL.
“It was really tough,” she admitted. “I’ve had a lot of injuries in my time, but that was probably the hardest I’ve had to go through.
“It was disappointing to miss out on the Big Bash, and it was really hard to watch from Melbourne in lockdown while everyone was in Sydney in the hub.
“At the same time, it motivated me and kept me interested in my rehab; being able to see everyone play really made me want to get back out there.”
Vlaeminck made her long-awaited international return in a white-ball series against New Zealand earlier this year, where Australia broke the world record for most consecutive ODI victories, bettering Ricky Ponting’s all-conquering 2003 side.
Last month it was announced experienced campaigners Megan Schutt and Jess Jonassen would be unavailable for the highly-anticipated series against India. Vlaeminck had suddenly shifted from the youngest member of the national side to one of its most experienced pace bowlers.
Joining her in the Australian squad are young quicks Darcie Brown, Stella Campbell and Hannah Darlington, who have each proven their worth in the WBBL.
“There’s so many world-class bowlers in this team, it doesn’t really ever feel like there’s someone that’s leader of the pack,” Vlaeminck said.
“The Big Bash now is giving younger players a chance to play a higher level of competition, so now the jump to international cricket doesn’t seem as high, and I think people are coming in really ready to play international cricket.
“And that what’s we saw with Darcie – she came off a really good Big Bash and then straight into the squad and was able to perform straight away. Hopefully if Stella and Hannah are given that opportunity, they’ll do the same.”
Vlaeminck will appear on the front of Cabury’s iconic purple packs as part of its Women in Sport initiative, along with three other Aussie sporting trailblazers.
“What they’re aiming to do is just showcase women in sport and put it on a platform where it’s more visible for lots of people,” she said.
“It’s a really positive step in promoting women in sport.”
The first one-day international between Australia and India gets underway on Tuesday, September 21, with the first ball scheduled for 10.05am AEST.
Originally published as Australian speedster Tayla Vlaeminck improvises in hotel quarantine ahead of India series
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