By Carla Jaeger
Talking to Annabel and Will Sutherland, it could be easy to assume they were as stock-standard as any sporting-obsessed siblings - growing up playing the usual racket of cricket, footy and tennis.
But the Sutherland siblings are far from ordinary. Only two years apart, the two are professional cricketing talents whose stars are on the rise.
Annabel and Will Sutherland at Toorak Park, where they grew up playing cricket. Credit: Joe Armao
The siblings themselves don’t seem to be used to the trappings that come with being a sports star.
“I feel like we’re getting our school picture taken,” Will said jokingly after a photoshoot with The Age’s photographer, Joe Armao, at Toorak Park on Tuesday afternoon.
Annabel, 21, laughed. She made her professional debut at just 15 in the Women’s Big Bash League, the youngest player ever to feature in the WBBL at the time.
Her career highlight was in 2020, when she played in the Twenty20 World Cup.
“It was pretty surreal,” she said. “I didn’t really expect to be playing for Australia straight out of school.”
‘It was pretty surreal. I didn’t really expect to be playing for Australia straight out of school.’
Annabel Sutherland
The all-rounder tops her WBBL club, the Melbourne Stars, for runs (186) and wickets (12) this season.
“[Annabel’s] worked out the batting, and I’ve probably worked out the bowling,” Will, the eldest, said.
Will made headlines in 2017 when he turned down the opportunity to play AFL, instead signing a multi-year deal to play cricket for Victoria.
The 23-year-old, who is also an all-rounder, has 193 runs at 48.25 to his name for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield this season to go with eight wickets, while he has also claimed six wickets in the Marsh Cup.
He made his Twenty20 debut at the 2018 BBL for the Melbourne Renegades and in 2017, he captained the CA XI at the under-19 championships in Sri Lanka.
This year, the stars seem to be aligning for the Sutherland siblings. On October 6, Will hit his maiden first-class century in the opening day of Victoria’s 2022-23 Sheffield Shield season against South Australia at Karen Rolton Oval.
Just two weeks earlier, Annabel also hit her maiden century, also against South Australia, also at Karen Rolton Oval.
‘It was outrageous. We both played our debut 100 at the same ground, two weeks between each other, against the same team.’
Annabel Sutherland
“It was outrageous. We both played our debut 100 at the same ground, two weeks between each other, against the same team,” Annabel said.
While some would assume that their cricket careers were thrust upon them (their father, James Sutherland, sat as Cricket Australia chief for 17 years), the siblings said it was more coincidental that they both ended up playing.
“There wasn’t any pressure talent wise,” Will said of growing up.
Annabel added: “[As kids], it was always us dragging Dad to the nets. He probably needs a new shoulder because of how many balls he’s thrown.”
Both of the sporting talents considered playing footy professionally, but much like the family’s dinner-time conversation, their careers naturally fell back to cricket.
Will’s manager still gets calls from AFL clubs interested in talking to him, which he said he’s never acted upon, but it is something he keeps in the back of his mind.
“The pathway with cricket, you sort of have to bide your time a bit more,” he said. “I’m happy to wait that out, and hopefully, it pays dividends later.”
For Annabel, there was less of a dilemma. “The cricket pathway was always there for girls, so that definitely made it easier,” she said. She would’ve considered footy more seriously if AFLW (which had its first season in 2017) had been more established earlier on. “It definitely would have made it a challenging choice,” she said.
Despite their love of all sports, there’s something that they find particularly special about cricket.
“The sport in general is bloody tough to do well in consistently. You’re not always gonna be the one that’s performing, so you have to learn to enjoy other’s success,” Annabel said.
Will’s favourite part of the sport is having a beer in the changing rooms with his teammates after a win.
And like any good sibling relationship, there’s a healthy bit of a rivalry. Will plans to support the Melbourne Renegades at Sunday’s WBBL derby match between the Stars and Renegades, despite his sister playing for the other side.
“I think the Renegades are struggling a bit, so it’d be good for them to get a win,” Will said. “Belsy’s been doing well every game, whether they win or lose.”
Off the field, Will is completing his Bachelor of Commerce, while Annabel is halfway through her science degree. It helps them stay in touch with their life outside cricket, and keeps their perspective.