Death-overs menace, middle-order rock, and a champion in crisis, the Australia allrounder has enjoyed a defining World Cup
S Sudarshanan29-Oct-2025No one at Women’s World Cup 2025 has taken more wickets in the last 10 overs than Annabel Sutherland. She has nine of them, nearly twice as many as the next-most-prolific bowler in this phase, Deepti Sharma (5).The bulk of Sutherland’s death-overs wickets have come courtesy one of the most deceptive weapons in the women’s game, her deadly back-of-the-hand slower ball. Even set batters have struggled to read it. Take for example Sophie Devine, who had scored a fine century in New Zealand’s run-chase against Australia in Indore. Looking to heave Sutherland over the leg side, Devine was far too early into her shot, the ball beating her for lack of pace to hit middle stump.Related
Sutherland's sleight of hand conjures priceless Australia win
How to beat Australia in three easy steps (step 1 – invent a miracle)
Tactics board: Mandhana's level-up, Sutherland's steady hand
Navi Mumbai gears up for India-Australia epic, but will Healy play?
“I know my game pretty well and can read the batter,” Sutherland tells ESPNcricinfo in Navi Mumbai, on the eve of Thursday’s semi-final against India.”It’s a bit of cat and mouse, trying to disrupt the batter’s swing as much as possible and make it really hard for them to get a read on what I’m going to be delivering. It is more about game awareness and trying to just disrupt the batter’s swing. That’s the main part of it.”You could see this happen in Visakhapatnam, where Sutherland’s slower ball made Jemimah Rodrigues lose her shape and spoon a catch to mid-off just when India seemed set for a final-overs explosion.And two other things make Sutherland’s slower ball especially tricky to handle. One, her pace-on delivery is a weapon too; not too long before she dismissed Richa Ghosh and Rodrigues with the slower one, she had prised out Pratika Rawal with a sharp bouncer that cramped the well-set opener for room and got her hooking straight to long leg.And the change-up, when she does bowl it, comes with little to no change in Sutherland’s bowling action.”It sort of comes pretty natural to me,” she says. “[I am] pretty lucky that I’ve got enough mobility to be able to get my arm around and, sort of, bowl it right at the back. I’ve been bowling it for a number of years now, so it comes pretty naturally, which is nice.”Sutherland’s unbeaten 98 against England was one of the innings of the tournament•Getty ImagesSutherland’s five-wicket-haul in Visakhapatnam was a major factor in Australia hauling India back; they only scored 43 runs in their last seven overs, ensuring Australia had to chase 331 rather than something truly gargantuan.And she had made an impact before the death overs too, with a first spell of four overs that cost just 16, and a second of three overs for eight, including the wicket of Rawal in the 31st over. Here, the key weapon was Sutherland’s control of length.”It’s more of a feel thing, to be honest, and it’s your responsibility as a bowler to work out what’s working, what the conditions are, trying to assess really quickly,” Sutherland says about finding the right lengths. “It’s different in every game. Bowlers in ODIs that can really settle in early on the right areas are the ones that are successful consistently. It’s something we’ve spoken about as a team and really trying to hone in on that length. That’s my strength as a bowler and then I’ve got variations to mix in with that.”Sutherland would already be having a spectacular World Cup if all she’d done so far was take 15 wickets at 13.33, putting her second on the wicket-takers’ chart. But she’s also played one of the innings of the tournament, against England in Indore.In that match, Australia were 68 for 4 in a chase of 245. The seamers had found movement with the new ball. The spinners were getting the ball to hold on the surface. Sutherland was unfazed, stitching an unbroken 180-run partnership with Ashleigh Gardner, and finished 98 not out as Australia romped home with nearly 10 overs to spare.’At the end of the day, I’m a competitor and I just really enjoy getting out there and playing a role, whatever that looks like on the day’•Getty Images”Those big moments are why you do all the work and all the training, long pre-seasons, and put in the hours really to try and be best prepared to be able to stand up in the big moments,” Sutherland says. “I certainly put a lot of time and effort into my preparation whether it’s planning with a bit of tactical stuff or your mental mental skills and your physical prep as well.”At the end of the day, I’m a competitor and I just really enjoy getting out there and playing a role, whatever that looks like on the day and putting my hand up for the team, whether it’s with the bat or ball. I really enjoy the moments under pressure as well.”Sutherland is no stranger to India. She has toured the country for international series at the turn of 2023-24 and just before this World Cup. She has been a constant in Delhi Capitals’ (DC) set-up in the WPL. She was a vital cog in their reaching the final of WPL 2025; only Jess Jonassen (13) and Shikha Pandey (11) took more wickets than Sutherland’s nine for DC. Exchanging notes with the likes of Ellyse Perry in the Australia dugout and Marizanne Kapp at DC have also helped round out her skills and awareness.”One of the things I pride myself on is always trying to find ways to get better and learn,” Sutherland says. “Whether that’s leaning on different coaches or players in franchise cricket that you get the chance to play alongside or in different conditions. All those different experiences really add to your game.”Australia go into Thursday’s semi-final on a run of 15 straight wins in ODI World Cups. Their line-up is full of multiple World Cup winners, and Sutherland has one in her bank too, but there’s one thing she hasn’t done yet. She played six matches in the 2022 edition but wasn’t a certainty in Australia’s XI, and when Perry returned for the final after missing the semi-final win over West Indies with back spasms, it was Sutherland who made way.Sutherland will be determined to make up for that now, but there’s one other hurdle to cross first. India, watch out.