Australia suffered a double whammy in their T20 World Cup 2024 Group A match against Pakistan on Friday. The defending champions had no difficulty registering their third win on the trot, beating Pakistan comprehensively by nine wickets, but two of their key players, including captain Alyssa Healy, were hurt in the process.

First, right-arm pacer Tayla Vlaeminck dislocated her bowling shoulder just four balls into the match and then towards the match, Alyssa Healy appeared to have pulled up her hamstring while coming back for a second run. She could not continue to bat and had to retire hurt.

Playing her first World Cup match in six years, Vlaeminck, brought into the side to add more depth to the pace bowling department of Australia, suffered the nasty injury just four balls into the match while trying to stop a boundary off Pakistan batter Muniba Ali's bat. Vlaeminck, standing at short third, chased the ball right till the end and then put a slide to stop it from touching the ropes but her knee got dug into the ground, flinging her in the air, forcing her to land awkwardly on her shoulders.

She immediately grabbed her shoulder and lay on the boundary line with an agonising look on her face. Her Australian teammates were visibly concerned by the turn of events. The physios rushed to attend to her. The 25-year-old's shoulder was relocated but the extent of damage remains a concern.

This was Vlaeminck's third shoulder dislocation. She dislocated her left shoulder playing for Victoria in the 2017-18 season. Then, during the Australia A tour of England, which coincided with last year's Women's Ashes, she dislocated the same shoulder again while bowling, which led to corrective surgery.

‘Horrible seeing your mate going down’

"It's obviously horrible seeing one of your mates go down and knowing Tay's road to get back to here," said Australia all-rounder Ash Gardner said. "She's someone that probably works harder than anyone else I know so to see someone like that go down with another injury, we all really felt for her.

"There were people that were obviously emotional and things like that and I think that just shows the care that we have for our team-mates and especially Tay. She's worked so hard to get back here and she's earned it, so to see her go down like that, we had to regroup really quickly."

Just as the Australian players were recovering from this, captain Healy hobbled off the field with a grimace on her face barely a couple of hours later.

Healy was seen limping up the stairs to the changing room, and Cricket Australia later announced that she had sustained a severe injury to her right foot. Plans were in place for her to have scans on Saturday, after which the extent of her participation in the tournament would likely be determined.

What remains undeniable is Australia's capacity to navigate through these challenges.

Australia next face India in their last group-stage match on Sunday.

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