“We just love being able to put on the baggy green” – Annabel Sutherland calls for more women’s Tests

Australian women’s cricketer Annabel Sutherland remains keen to play more long-form cricket, stating it will help them get used to its nature. Sutherland, who took Australia close to victory in the recent Ashes Test, loves bowling under pressure.

Australia and England put on an entertaining show in the lone Ashes Test in Canberra. The hosts declared on the final day, leaving the opposition to score 257 to win from 48 overs. The visitors went for victory, however, and Australia roared back before the Test finished in a draw, with England stopping at 245-9.

Sutherland reflected on the Test and its possibility to see all three results occur even until the final over. She stated that wearing Baggy Green is a matter of pride for them and has called for more red-ball cricket.

The 20-year old said (as quoted by Watoday):

“I think it should. When you get a Test match where in that last session on day four you could have any result happen, it’s pretty exciting. We love playing Test cricket and we’d love to play more, I think. Just from a playing perspective, the more we play, the more we get used to that, the nature of Test cricket.”

She added:

“We just love being able to put on the baggy green, so it’d be cool to be able to play more.”

Sutherland bowled exceptionally well in both innings, taking five wickets in the Test. The 20-year old played an instrumental role in bringing Australia back into the game in the second innings. She removed Natalie Sciver, Amy Ellen Jones, and Katherine Brunt in quick succession on the final day.

“I have always wanted to take an opportunity when it’s thrown at me” – Annabel Sutherland

She further claimed she enjoys it when skipper Meg Lanning throws the ball at her under tough situations as she remains confident of taking wickets. The youngster added:

“I have always wanted to take an opportunity when it’s thrown at me and the nature of this Australian team is it doesn’t happen that often because of the depth we have got. So just being able to take that role, take the ball when Meg threw it at me and do my job, I feel like I have been ready to do that for the last year or so and I’ll certainly take a lot of confidence from the role I was able to play.”

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The Ashes series will move on to the three-match one-day international series, starting from the 3rd of February.