Annabel Sutherland breaks MCG records in historic knock, as shambolic Poms drop SEVEN catches in Ashes horror show
Annabel Sutherland made history on day two of the pink-ball Ashes Test at the MCG, becoming the first woman to score a century at the ground.
She is also the first Victorian-born or raised player to achieve this feat in a Test match at the MCG since Graham Yallop in 1983.
England struggled throughout the day, dropping seven catches that allowed Australia to dominate.
Their mistakes helped Australia reach 422 for five, giving them a commanding lead of 252 runs.
Sutherland’s innings of 163 was her third Test century in just six matches.
Beth Mooney contributed with an unbeaten 98, further solidifying Australia’s control over the match.
Annabel Sutherland smashed 163 at the MCG to put England firmly to the sword in their pink ball Ashes clash
Sutherland became the first Victorian woman to score a ton at the MCG and the first Victorian player, male or female, to achieve the feat since Graham Yallop in 1983
However, England’s inability to take routine catches severely hampered their performance.
Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Amy Jones, Sophie Ecclestone (twice), Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Maia Bouchier, and Lauren Filer all missed catching opportunities.
England’s struggles extended beyond dropped catches, as their ground fielding also lacked sharpness.
Australia cashed in, scoring 366 runs in the three sessions.
Former England men’s captain Michael Vaughan even took to social media platform X to invite the women’s team to come to his academy for catching practice.
‘I am inviting all the England women’s team to join my fielding academy .. it’s the only way to solve this dropping problem,’ he posted.
Fans also voiced their frustration.
One wrote, ‘They shouldn’t be invited they should be forced to go they shouldn’t get a choice this fielding n catching is sub standard to put it politely.’
Another added, ‘It’s embarrassing dropped a load of catches against West Indies in the World Cup. Professionals getting paid big money now it’s an absolute shambles.’
Sutherland made the most of England’s errors, securing her place in the Australian side.
A hip injury to Ellyse Perry created an opportunity for her to move up the batting order.
Perry, a veteran of Australian cricket, sustained the injury while fielding on day one and could not bat at No.3.
Sutherland, who was initially listed to bat at No.6, stepped up in Perry’s absence.
Her outstanding performance places her alongside Betty Wilson and Jill Kennare as the only Australian women to have scored three Test centuries.
‘I said ‘yes’ pretty quickly, before ‘Shell’ (Australia coach Shelley Nitschke) could even ask the question,’ the 23-year-old said about her promotion in the batting order.
‘I thought England bowled pretty well in that first session (on Friday) so it was nice to get through that. Wherever you can get an opportunity to bat, I’ll take it.’
Sutherland moved up the order after an injury to star veteran Ellyse Perry ruled her out of the rest of the match
Sutherland’s century marked a significant turnaround in form. During the earlier ODIs and T20s, her highest score was just 18.
However, she has consistently excelled in the Test format. ‘The time you’ve got to build an innings, I love batting,’ she said.
‘You’ve got time to work through those waves of ebbs and flows of the game and just recognising those moments.’
Sutherland, the daughter of former Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland, has deep ties to the MCG. She spent her summers watching cricket and winters supporting her AFL team, Geelong Cats.
Scoring a century in the first women’s Test at the MCG since 1949 was a career highlight for her.
‘The occasion, the venue, the amount of time I’ve spent at the ‘G as a young kid … I just love the venue and what it means as a Victorian,’ she said.
‘At different phases, concentration wavers a bit, but what brings me back always is what’s best for the team.’
‘That’s where my head goes, rather than any of the individual stuff.’
