The 24-year-old allrounder, who has won a second consecutive Belinda Clark Award, explained why she withdrew from a lucrative WPL contract
No resting on laurels, Sutherland determined to stay a step ahead
Annabel Sutherland insists she will continue finding ways to take her all-round game to new heights, revealing the reason she pulled out of this year's Women's Premier League was to freshen up and properly prepare for Australia's hectic upcoming schedule.
Sutherland joined elite company last weekend, becoming just the fifth woman to win consecutive Belinda Clark Awards, capping off a year where the star allrounder continued her dominance in the green and gold.
At 24, the Victorian already has six international hundreds to her name – one more than legendary allrounder Ellyse Perry – but said the pace at which the women's game was developing meant there was no time to rest on her laurels.
"I mean, it's one of the things I love about the game of cricket, especially as an allrounder, there's always ways to improve your game," Sutherland said after receiving the Belinda Clark Award.
"The international game's moving pretty quickly.
"We see with the likes of India, the depth that's coming through and the talent that's coming through, you've got to stay a step ahead as much as you can, always finding ways to get better and finding little windows to work on things.
"So I definitely hope there's lots of improvements to go."
Sutherland appears set to rewrite the record books and has been a key weapon with the ball across all formats in recent years, while also cementing herself as a core member of Australia's top order with the bat.
In Tests, she averages a remarkable 83.71 from nine innings, and her 586 runs in the format are second only to Perry's 930 among Australia's current Test squad.
In one-dayers, she now averages 40.87 from 49 games having demanded a spot in the top five ahead of more experienced players including Tahlia McGrath since late 2024.
The only frontier Sutherland has yet to fully crack is her batting in the shortest format, averaging 11.41 at a strike rate of 135.66 – albeit with scant opportunity, having batted just 22 times in 46 matches with the majority of those coming at No.7 or lower.
The need to find windows in an increasingly busy schedule to work on her game, and to ensure she is fit and fresh for international cricket, was behind Sutherland's decision to withdraw from her lucrative WPL contract.
Having been retained by Delhi Capitals for A$364,000 (INR 2.2 crore) ahead of last year's draft, Sutherland pulled out of the competition in January citing personal reasons.
"I think there were probably a few factors involved," Sutherland said.
"Just the way the schedule was pretty busy few months, seven or eight weeks in India at a World Cup (last year was) certainly tough mentally and physically.
"I think probably just knowing I couldn't quite give my absolute best to Delhi were the main reasons behind deciding not to play, and just having a little window to freshen up a little bit mentally and physically."
Australia spent two months in India last September and October, then joined their Big Bash clubs immediately upon their return home.
The current multi-format home series against India will wrap up on March 10, before the Australian squad depart for a tour of the Caribbean on March 13.
There will be a brief break following that tour before preparations ramp up for the T20 World Cup in England, with Australia to depart for the United Kingdom in late May.
"I think I was just trying to prioritise my mental and physical well-being and find a window to freshen up a little bit, given what's ahead," Sutherland said.
NRMA Insurance Australia v India Multi-Format Series
India lead the multi-format series 2-0
Australia T20I squad: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
India T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Renuka Thakur, Sree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Uma Chetry, Arundhati Reddy, Amanjot Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Shreyanka Patil
February 15: India won by 21 runs (DLS)
February 19: Second T20, Manuka Oval, Canberra, 7:15pm AEDT
February 21: Third T20, Adelaide Oval, 7:15pm AEDT
Australia ODI squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Sophie Molineux (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
India ODI squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Renuka Thakur, Sree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Kashvee Gautam, Amanjot Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Uma Chetry, Harleen Deol, Pratika Rawal
February 24: First ODI, Allan Border Field, Brisbane, 2:50pm AEDT
February 27: Second ODI, Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 2:50pm AEDT
March 1: Third ODI, Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 2:50pm AEDT
Australia Test squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Sophie Molineux (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
India Test squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh, Sneh Rana, Amanjot Kaur, Uma Chetry, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Kranti Gaud, Vaishnavi Sharma, Sayali Satghare
March 6-9: Test match, WACA Ground, 4:20pm AEDT (D/N)