Renegades captain to miss start of WBBL title defence
Oliver Caffrey |
The Melbourne Renegades have suffered an early blow in their WBBL title defence, losing captain Sophie Molineux to a quad injury.
The bowling allrounder played in Australia’s shock ODI World Cup semi-final loss against India last week.
Molineux has experienced a number of injuries, including knee issues that has affected her in recent times.
The 27-year-old ruptured her ACL in 2022 and missed more than a year of cricket recovering from the debilitating knee injury.
Molineux will miss at least the first two games of the Renegades’ campaign, including a rematch of last year’s final when the Brisbane Heat host the Melbourne team at Allan Border Field on Sunday.
Fellow Australia player and close friend Georgia Wareham will captain the Renegades in Molineux’s absence.
The Renegades are back in action on Tuesday when they return home to the CitiPower Centre (Junction Oval) to face Sydney Thunder.
Star West Indian Hayley Matthews is already out of the tournament due to a shoulder injury.
But the Renegades have added significant international talent to bolster their chances of going back-to-back.
Teenage batting sensation Davina Perrin has been included as a replacement for Matthews, while fellow England players Alice Capsey and Issy Wong are also on the Renegades’ list.
West Indian Deandra Dottin is back after featuring in the Renegades’ run to the title last year.
It is going to be hard to top last year’s campaign for the Renegades, who started 0-2 after coming off a wooden spoon in 2023, only to storm home to collect their maiden WBBL title.
Their path to the top has been documented in a new film, Rise of the Renegades.
Camera crews started following the team midway through the 2024 tournament, before the Renegades seemed like a genuine title threat.
Talented Renegades batter Josie Dooley, who suffered a stroke while on holiday in Hawaii in April 2024, was a major inspiration in the season.
AAP
