3rd blow for Australia! Will Sutherland replaces injured Nathan Ellis for West Indies ODIs

Cricket Australia in a recent release has announced that injured pacer Nathan Ellis has been withdrawn from Australia’s upcoming 3-match ODI series against West Indies and they have named all-rounder Will Sutherland as his replacement. This was the 3rd replacement made by the Aussie board after Glenn Maxwell and Jhye Richardson also pulled out of the series.

The Aussies are slated to play the 3 ODIs right after the 2nd Test against West Indies from January 25 to 29 at the Gabba in Brisbane. Will Sutherland who hasn’t had much success in the domestic circuit will be expecting to make his international debut in the series.

He featured for the Melbourne Renegades in the ongoing BBL season, which is at its business end. As the Renegades finished 7th in the league table, Will Sutherland’s individual performance wasn’t that special either. In terms of bowling, the all-rounder took 7 wickets in 7 games and scored 112 runs with the bat but maintained a fiery strike rate of over 160 throughout.

Other than Sutherland, Jake Fraser-McGurk and Xavier Bartlett have also come in as replacements for Maxwell and Richardson. While the Big Show was sidelined due to being hospitalized after a big night out, Jhye Richardson is dealing with a long-term side strain.

The Aussies are set to play without Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc as all of them have been rested following months of non-stop cricket. That opens the door for Sean Abbott and Bartlett among other bowlers to make their mark in the series in which Ellis too could have earned his 20th cap.

But nonetheless, someone’s loss is someone’s gain, and that someone is Will Sutherland who has 948 runs and 115 wickets in 37 first-class games. During the last Sheffield Shield season, the 24-year-old experienced his best season ever by collecting 41 wickets and scoring a century as well but his form and performance have dipped drastically this year.

Earlier this summer, Sutherland had claimed that he would be keen on an opportunity with the national team and stated that he has performed well whenever he has played for Victoria with a winning mindset.

“I’ve always done best when I’ve just focused on playing for the Vics and trying to win games for them, and if anything does happen with Australian stuff obviously I’ll be excited and wanting to do that.” – Sutherland said. 

Pat Cummins Claims Giving Chances To Players Like Will Sutherland Is A Good Decision

All-format captain Pat Cummins stated that giving chances to youngsters like Will Sutherland is a good move given there are ICC events coming in 2025 and 2027 and that Australia should be shaping up the future.

“I don’t think there’ll be that many players that were part of the last World Cup that are going to be there, so you start looking, trying to give exposure to some of these young stars who have been performing really well at state level,” Cummins said, as quoted by Cricket.com.au. 

Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), Travis Head (vc), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Lance Morris, Matt Short, Will Sutherland, Adam Zampa

West Indies squad: Shai Hope (c), Alzarri Joseph, Alick Athanaze, Teddy Bishop, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Tevin Imlach, Gudakesh Motie, Kjorn Ottley, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh jr