Undeterred Sutherland shines after 'roughest' day

Just two days after Will Sutherland brought up cricket's most unwanted century, the teenager gave an encouraging glimpse into why he's regarded one of the country's finest all-round prospects.

Victoria's miraculous comeback victory over Tasmania at the WACA Ground on Tuesday, which saw the Tigers go from eyeing off a bonus-point win to losing by a run in an astonishing passage of play, would not have been possible without Sutherland's decisive performance.

The Vics were staring down the barrel when they slumped to 6-109 in their innings before the No.8 batted smartly with the tail, picking his moments to launch a trio of sixes, on the way to his maiden List A half-century.

Despite conceding 102 runs from his 10 overs in Victoria’s defeat to Western Australia on Saturday – the most expensive figures recorded in Australian domestic one-day history and only the third instance of a bowler bringing up triple figures in the competition – Sutherland was again thrown the new ball at the WACA.

And the right-armer repaid the faith, claiming 2-43, including the vital scalp of veteran George Bailey.

Tasmania then lost 6-12 in 26 balls of madness to hand Victoria an unthinkable triumph.

"A few of the boys were saying that's the best win we've ever been a part of," said Sutherland.

"To get absolutely spanked on Saturday and then to turn it around like we did today was just a tremendous effort from all the boys.

"Personally, it gives me a lot of confidence. It was one of the roughest days I've had on Saturday.

"So to be able to bounce back – a lot of people tell you to bounce back, but to be able to actually do it gives me a lot of confidence going forward."

England's recent 50-over World Cup victory was built the back of a rare generation of talented allrounders, with the likes of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler underscoring the importance of multi-skilled cricketers in modern white-ball cricket.

As Australia readjusts its gaze towards the next edition of the ODI World Cup in four years' time after losing to England in the semi-final earlier this year, Sutherland is the type of player likely to be on the national radar in the coming years.

Sutherland will be 23 by the time the 2023 World Cup in India gets underway.

That may seem young, but he has continuously been a step above his peers.

Aged just 17, the schoolboy became Victoria's youngest-ever List A debutant two seasons ago before unleashing a devastating haul of 4-11 against NSW in his second game.

After his final year of school and the Under-19 World Cup limited him to just three one-dayers during that 2017-18 summer, he again began the domestic 50-over competition with a bang when he sliced through Queensland's top order to take 5-45 the following season.

While a back injury ruled out a potential Sheffield Shield debut last summer, Sutherland, despite just having nine senior games under his belt, appears to be coming into his own.

"Maybe (I've) got a little bit more rhythm, I had a lot of time out last season," he said.

"It was good on Saturday, we learnt a lot out of that game. We got punished and then we were able to reassess and work out what length was best suited to this wicket and I think we did that really well."

Sutherland, who was touted as a potential Australian rules football star before giving up the boots for a cricket career, said Victoria's experienced pacemen, led by the likes of James Pattinson and Peter Siddle, have been helpful mentors.

"They all give a lot," said Sutherland. "They're always happy to have a chat about lengths, or batsmen weaknesses."