Will Sutherland has been named Victoria’s new Sheffield Shield captain and is also set to lead Australia A in three 50-over matches against New Zealand A in Queensland starting on Sunday.
But his Australia A side won’t feature Test and Victoria offspinner Todd Murphy who has been withdrawn from the series due to a niggle, however, it is understood to be minor.
Sutherland, 23, led Victoria in four Shield matches late last season in the absence of long-time captain Peter Handscomb who was touring with Australia’s Test side in India.
Sutherland’s elevation as captain of both Victoria and Australia A is a sign of how highly he is regarded within Australian cricket. He has been named as Australia A’s 50-over skipper ahead of Ashton Turner, who is also in the squad, despite Turner captaining WA to the last two Marsh Cup titles and Perth Scorchers to the last two BBL titles.
Victoria have made the last two Shield finals under Handscomb but have fallen short twice against Western Australia. Handscomb, who will continue to lead Victoria’s 50-over Marsh Cup team, believes it is the right time to hand over the Shield role.
“Will is a tremendous leader and has all the right attributes to succeed as a captain,” Handscomb said. “I have absolutely loved leading Victoria in the Sheffield Shield, but it’s now Will’s time to take our side forward.
“I’m still excited to be captaining our One-Day side and will be doing everything I can to support Will and the rest of the squad, both on and off the field.”
Sutherland was full of praise for Handscomb and thrilled to get the opportunity to lead his state.
“Pete has been a fantastic captain for us and has been incredibly supportive of me taking on this responsibility,” Sutherland said. “It’s an honour to captain Victoria. I loved the chance I had to captain the side last season while Pete was in India and am looking forward to taking on the challenge this season.
“Knowing I have the support of Pete, Chris Rogers and the rest of the coaching and playing group fills me with a lot of confidence and I can’t wait to get started.”
Melbourne Renegades fast bowler Tom Rogers has also been added to the squad ahead of the three-match series. Wes Agar (back), Ben Dwarshuis (back) and Murphy (general soreness) have all been ruled out of the series. Agar was due to play in the four-day matches but was ruled out with a back complaint and has not recovered in time. Dwarshuis injured his back during the second four-day game in Mackay. Murphy had been training with Victoria, having not played since the final Ashes Test in July, but suffered a slight niggle in the lead-up to travelling to Queensland and is understood to have been withdrawn as a precaution.
Australia A 50-over squad: Will Sutherland (c), Ollie Davies, Liam Hatcher, Caleb Jewell, Matt Kuhnemann, Ben McDermott, Josh Philippe, Matt Renshaw, Tom Rogers, Gurinder Sandhu, Matt Short, Mark Steketee, Ashton Turner
Alex Malcolm is an Associate Editor at ESPNcricinfo
Source: ESPN Crickinfo
