It was during the 2001 Ashes Test at The Oval that England debutant Jimmy Ormond produced one of cricket’s most infamous sledges.
After walking out to bat for his maiden Test innings, Australia’s Mark Waugh confronted him in the middle.
“Mate, what are you doing out here?’ Waugh asked.
“There’s no way you’re good enough to play for England.”
Ormond responded: “Maybe not, but at least I’m the best player in my family.”
Following his sister’s heroics during the recent WACA Test against South Africa, Victorian captain Will Sutherland might be anticipating similar jibes from his opponents.
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Australian all-rounder Annabel Sutherland clobbered the fastest double-century in women’s Tests last week, a stunning 210 (256) that featured 27 boundaries and two sixes. The 22-year-old also claimed five wickets as Australia cruised towards an innings and 284-run win over the Proteas in Perth, securing a 12-4 victory in the multi-format series.
On the same day she reached triple figures, her brother claimed a five-wicket haul on the other side of the country, taking 5-51 in a Sheffield Shield contest against New South Wales at the SCG.
It was one the best bowling performances of his career, but his sister’s all-round masterclass understandably dominated the headlines.
“(My parents) are over there in Perth watching her,” Sutherland laughed on Thursday evening.
“They probably didn’t even watch me, let’s be honest.”
Both Sutherland siblings have been praised for their leadership attributes — it’s entirely feasible they could be leading Australia’s cricket teams at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. But while Annabel has already cemented her spot in the national side across all three formats, Will’s international career is still in its infancy.
Sutherland ripped through the Blues top-order on Thursday, repeatedly bashing away at a good length and helping roll the hosts for 252 on day one.
“That’s probably my first-five wicket haul in east-coast conditions,” Sutherland told Fox Cricket.
“To get a five-fa on a traditionally flatter wicket, even though it was doing a bit, is rewarding.
“I’ve had a few niggles, and probably didn’t bowl as well as I would have liked before Christmas, so it was nice to get the rewards today.”
It’s been a whirlwind 12 months for Sutherland, who finished last summer’s Sheffield Shield campaign as the leading wicket-taker with 41 scalps at 19.92. After taking a five-wicket haul during last year’s Sheffield Shield final against Western Australian, he penned a maiden County Championship deal with Essex but sustained an untimely lower back stress fracture before jetting off to the United Kingdom.
“From a timing point of view, I’ve been quite lucky because I wasn’t in England when it happened, so I didn’t have to go over there and then come back,” Sutherland told Fox Cricket.
“It was unfortunate to miss the Essex stuff, and obviously it was an Ashes summer as well, so that would’ve been nice, but there’s always plenty of time to do that in the future.”
After making a handful of appearances for Australia A at the start of the summer, Sutherland’s golden form with the ball continued in the Marsh Cup, finishing the group stage as the competition’s equal leading wicket-taker with 13 scalps at 22.69. National selectors rewarded the 24-year-old by rushing him into Australia’s squad for the recent ODI series against the West Indies, taking 2-28 on international debut at the SCG.
With the likes of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood approaching the twilight of their international white-ball careers, Sutherland looms as one of the candidates to replace the ‘big three’ when the time comes.
However, Australian coach Andrew McDonald advised the all-rounder at the start of the summer he needed to make a few more runs to be considered for further international honours.
Sutherland smacked a maiden first-class hundred against South Australia in October 2022, but only mustered one half-century this summer, compiling 194 runs at 17.63.
“My bowling has been there or there about for Victoria for a while, whereas I’ve only had one decent season with the bat,” Sutherland explained.
“The focus is making more runs, more hundreds for Victoria, which will definitely help my chances to make it to the next level.
“I’ve done better in Shield cricket for while, so that obviously leads into Test cricket, but I had a solid season with the Renegades last year as well.
“Wherever my opportunity comes, I’ll be keen to take it. I’m not specialising in any one format yet, so I’m trying to make it in all formats.”
Before considering the potential of donning the baggy green, Sutherland is focused on winning a Sheffield Shield title for his state. Victoria finished second in the two most recent Sheffield Shield campaigns and is expected to qualify for a third consecutive final pending results over the coming couple of weeks.
“If we can make the (Shield) final and win it, that’s probably my dream at the moment,” Sutherland declared.
“We’ve played losing finals in the last two years, so that would be a dream come true.”
When the home summer wraps up, Sutherland will travel to England and join Somerset ahead of the County Championship, hoping to avoid a repeat of last season’s injury setback.
“Just got to look after the rig,” Sutherland laughed.
Having narrowly missed out on booking a place in the Marsh Cup final, Victoria will next face Tasmania for a four-day contest in Hobart on Friday.
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