Good things come in threes: Seamers sign for Season 10

Coyte and Prestwidge have re-signed for two years while Vlaeminck extends her stay for another season.

And the trio will now be complemented with the arrival of talented young quick Milly Illingworth whose recruitment was announced earlier in the week.

Together the four offer a great mix of line-and-length bowling with raw pace that will offer Simon Helmot and the coaching staff plenty to work with in WBBL|10.

“All four bowlers offer us something different, we’re excited to have a mix of seamers with different skill sets who can take the new ball, come in at the death and trouble bowlers with variation or raw pace," general Manager, James Rosengarten, said.

“Tayla has worked so hard to get back to playing cricket and playing well. We’re excited to see her back in red and have the impact we know she can have on our side.

“The prospect of Tayla and Milly steaming in should really excite Gades fans this season!”

Vlaeminck returned to the club ahead of WBBL|08 alongside then new recruits Prestwidge and Coyte, but this season presents the first opportunity of all three playing together.

Vlaeminck returned to playing and finished the 2023/24 summer strong with Victoria and Australia.

The 25-year-old said she’s keen to keep that momentum going and finally pull on the red – again.

“I’ve loved being around this group so it will be nice to actually get out in the field with the girls and play after a couple of seasons running the drinks.

“To play with Preto and Coytey, I’m super excited. I’ve loved having Presto around the state squad, I was lucky enough to play a couple of games with her now for Victoria so it will be great to play alongside her in Red. I haven’t played with Coytey before. She’s the ultimate competitor and we love that.”

Coyte, 33, and Prestwidge, 26, experienced campaigners of nine and eight Big Bash seasons respectively, have been mainstays since arriving at the club, combining for 38 wickets with bests of 3/22 apiece.

Relied upon to take the new ball or bowl at the death, the pair will be buoyed with the addition of Vlaeminck and Illingworth to the fold.

Coyte added:

“The Gades have felt like home since my first season so to be able to re-sign for another WBBL season in Red is really exciting for me.

"I've obviously been around the last two seasons and seen Tay do rehab religiously so to see her get back to bowling full pace and playing is something I feel like myself and the rest of Australia have been waiting for.

"Raw pace always pumps me up, especially when they are on my team and I'm not in the middle facing them. I think we have always had a strong pace attack but to have Presto, Milly and Tay really foes give us a huge advantage and I can't wait to get out there with them."

Prestwidge added:

“The group has been so welcoming since I moved down and felt like family straight away.

“The beauty of franchise cricket is players move around and you get to bowl alongside players who’ve tasted international cricket. I’ve learned so much from Tay and Coytey, especially Coytey and her death bowling, she’s a book of absolute wisdom.

“And to have Milly come on board, we’ve got quite the arsenal now so should be a good season.”

Melbourne Renegades’ WBBL|10 Squad (to date):
Sarah Coyte, Josie Dooley, Nicole Faltum, Ella Hayward, Milly Illingworth, Hayley Matthews, Sophie Molineux, Georgia Prestwidge, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham, Courtney Webb.