Melbourne Renegades boost chances at another WBBL crown with star signing

The reigning WBBL champions have boosted their chances of another crown with the commitment of a world class all-rounder.

The world class West Indian is back.

The Melbourne Renegades have boosted their chances of another WBBL title with the commitment of dynamite all-rounder Hayley Matthews.

Matthews, the Windies national captain, was a key part of the Renegades’ remarkable run from cellar dwellers to champions last summer.

The 27-year-old said the tight-knit nature of the ‘Gades and the quality of the WBBL prompted her to return in 2025-26.

“I think it attracts all the main stars for that reason, specifically,” Matthews said.

“Obviously, Australia being the No.1 ranked team in the world – and you can definitely see why when you look at the competition like the WBBL.

“The quality and the standard is so high, I feel like for me personally, having the opportunity to play in the Big Bash from about 17 years old, I have seen the competition grow and get better every year.

“I think for me as an athlete I have had an opportunity to grow and get better with the competition, which is something I like to use a lot too.

“We obviously don’t have the best domestic circuit in the West Indies where I am from, so being a part of a competition like the WBBL definitely does help my game grow and get better as well.”

Hayley Matthews punishes a short ball playing for the West Indies in England. Picture: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

The upcoming campaign will be Matthews’ fourth consecutive stint at the Renegades.

Matthews didn’t have the most damaging first two seasons but proved her worth in the back-end of last summer with a string of strong showings.

She said her form during the latter part of the season was her “repaying” the Renegades’ faith in her.

“I obviously didn’t have the best Big Bash seasons in my first two years at Renegades, so I think for me as well it shows that they definitely put a lot of faith and trust in me,” she said.

“Which was massively appreciated, I am just really glad I was able to repay them, get some runs and get some wickets and be a big part of that winning season.

“It feels like it was me repaying their faith of me over the three years of me being there.”

Matthews is back in red this summer. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Matthews felt the Renegades “slipped under the radar” as a team no one thought could go all the way.

She expects teams to do their homework on the reigning champions and come hunting.

“As defending champions teams are definitely going to have us rated highly. I think before we probably slipped under the radar a little bit,” she said.

“Teams are certainly going to be coming hard this year and certainly going to be taking the squad seriously.

“People are going to want to play their best cricket against the Renegades, so we’re going to have to come up against people really fighting.

“As a team I think it’s about sticking together, we want the same goal as well, planning ahead to see how we’re going to get there.”

Originally published as Melbourne Renegades boost chances at another WBBL crown with star signing