Sydney, Aug 31 (IANS) Star seam-bowling all-rounder Annabel Sutherland believes she has now achieved optimal balance in her T20 game, as she looks to carry her good form into Australia’s upcoming domestic and international summer.
Annabel, 24, was named player of the tournament during the recently concluded The Hundred women’s competition, where she topped the run-scoring charts with 315 runs at an average of 63 and claimed 11 wickets for Sunrisers Leeds, who finished runners-up in the competition.
Her impressive stint in England came after being a member of Australia’s T20 World Cup triumph at Lord’s in July. “I feel like I’m really enjoying my cricket. I had a really great time in the Hundred. It’s an awesome tournament, so I think that helps, and then the other thing is just contributing in both phases of the game. I feel like I’ve got a good sense of where I’m at with both ball and bat,” Annabel told reporters at the launch of Play Cricket Week in Sydney on Monday.
Annabel will lead the Melbourne Stars for the second time in WBBL season 12 under new head coach Richard Pryah, before Australia embark on a home series against Bangladesh and New Zealand, the inaugural T20 Champions Trophy in February, and a multi-format tour of South Africa.
Reflecting on Australia’s T20 World Cup victory, Sutherland noted that back-to-back semi-final defeats in the 2024 edition and the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup prompted crucial self-reflection that ultimately reshaped the squad’s approach to high-pressure matches.
“When a team’s winning, you roll on and let the momentum take you forward, but when you’re losing, then you start asking a few questions internally. We certainly addressed the World Cups as a group, and flagged a couple of things, particularly the way that we handled pressure in those big moments, and I think that was something that we showed as a group throughout this year’s World Cup campaign.”
“We were so calm and composed, and credit to Sophie for the way that she drove that. T20 cricket is so unpredictable … there are a lot of things outside your control. But I just think the way we handled it as a group – pretty much dominated every game, which is a little bit unheard of in that format – and to cap it off with a win against England at Lord’s, it was pretty special,” she concluded.
–IANS
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