Annabel Sutherland: 'If you're a youngster coming through and you're not frustrated, you're doing something wrong'

However, as an overseas star in the Hundred, Sutherland was at the centre of the action and the results were impressive. She never failed to reach double figures and bowled with both wicket-taking threat and economy. “I had a really good pre-season,” she said. “Think when you get those windows [that] we don’t often have, it’s important to take them, and I certainly enjoyed that period of time, finding different ways to work on my game.”Her recent bowling returns are especially notable. She is used an increasing amount at the death, and since October 2023 has an economy in the 17-20-over period of just 6.86 – the third lowest among all bowlers who have delivered at least 100 balls in that phase. It won’t always go right, but it’s a role she relishes. At North Sydney Oval last year Sutherland was almost able to stop a rampaging Hayley Matthews when she conceded just three runs off the 18th over.”I’m wanting to put my hand up for any situation,” she says. “I’ve been really grateful for the opportunities I’ve had in the Australian team in the last six to 12 months in ODI and T20, moments that Midge [Alyssa Healy] has thrown me the ball and asked me to do a job. I’ve learnt a lot in those situations.”T20 cricket, especially, is a game of experience – the more times you get put in those situations and feel comfortable under the pump, or a batter is coming for you, you know your options. You have to have the toolbox in the first place but to call on the right options, then execute, it’s the fun part of cricket as a bowler. It can go both ways pretty quickly but I feel like I’ve been able to be relatively consistent in those moments.Team-mate Ash Gardner picks Sutherland as a future leader of Australia. “She’s a player well beyond her years,” Gardner says•Getty Images”A strength of mine is to try and look at things objectively and take the learnings from it,” she says.”Whether I do well or not so well, it’s: what did you learn from it, and what can you take to the next game? That was the cool thing about the Hundred. It was a great opportunity to play some short-format cricket, obviously a T20 World Cup in sight, and taking bits and pieces of learning from it, get comfortable in different situations.”The growth in Sutherland’s bowling is an aspect that has stood out to her team-mates. “We always knew she was going to be good, and her batting has come on leaps and bounds, but I actually think in the T20 format her bowling is what’s been the most impressive,” Ash Gardner says. “She’s one of those bowlers who can be thrown the ball at any point in the game. The credit she deserves is how hard she’s worked and the options she has at the death.”There’s not many female bowlers who can bowl a slower-ball bouncer. She has a very good back-of-the-hand ball, so things like that, she has a lot of balls she can use throughout those moments and has the cricket brain as well to know when to use them.”She’s a player well beyond her years and will be a leader of the future in this side and any other team she plays for. That just feeds back into how calm she is out on the field, and ultimately that’s what’s probably her biggest thing is – she doesn’t crack under pressure.””The thing I love about being a cricketer is, you’ve always got places to improve in your game and I enjoy that process”•Mike Owen/Getty ImagesThe ability to bat big and long has been evident in Sutherland’s two Test centuries. “Feel like it’s been a strength of mine to bat for longer periods,” she says. “Growing up I’d open the batting in boys’ cricket. A strength was that I could bat through. I enjoy batting for long periods, dealing with the ups and downs of an innings, finding ways to keep working through those little ruts you have.”But while for Northern Superchargers she was at No. 4, and she has played the majority of her innings for Melbourne Stars at four or higher, in Australia’s T20I side she will likely remain at No. 7 or 8, which requires a very different skill set.”Whatever role I might play, I’ve definitely worked pretty hard on my boundary-hitting and accessing different areas of the ground, knowing what potential plans teams may throw at me and being able to adapt,” she said. “It’s something I’ve been looking to improve on and worked really hard through the off season [on], lots of time in the nets working on my power-hitting.”You can’t rest on your laurels because the way the game is moving and changing all the time, the depth is growing around the world. The thing I love about being a cricketer is, you’ve always got places to improve in your game and I enjoy that process.”