West Indies captain Hayley Matthews will miss the entire 2025 season of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) due to an impending shoulder surgery. The announcement comes as a blow to defending champions Melbourne Renegades, who had re-signed Matthews as a pre-draft recruit for two years.

Matthews sustained the shoulder injury while fielding during the first ODI against England recently. She missed the remaining two games of that series but continued to play against South Africa in the subsequent home ODIs. She is also expected to feature in the upcoming T20I series and will participate in the Women’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in September for the Barbados Royals before undergoing surgery.

The surgery is expected to sideline her for the rest of the year, including during the time of the Women's ODI World Cup — a tournament West Indies failed to qualify for.

“We are clearly disappointed Hayley won’t be with us this season,” said Renegades general manager James Rosengarten. “She’s been instrumental during her time with the Renegades, not just with her performances but with her leadership and professionalism. There’s a very close relationship between the Renegades and Hayley and we know it will continue next year and beyond.”

Matthews had an exceptional season in WBBL 2024, finishing as the Renegades’ top run-scorer with 324 runs at a strike rate of 130.64. She also picked up 14 wickets, with an economy rate of 6.98. Her all-round brilliance culminated in a match-winning performance in the final against Brisbane Heat, where she scored 69 off 61 balls and took 2 for 24, earning her the Player of the Match award.

Her absence means Melbourne Renegades now have all three overseas player slots to fill in Thursday’s WBBL draft in Melbourne.