Women's T20 World Cup 2026: Annabel Sutherland backed to take finisher role for Australia

Australia Women's coach Shelley Nitschke has backed Annabel Sutherland for a back-end role with the bat as the dominant force looks to regain their crown in the 2026 ICC Women's T20 World Cup in England & Wales in June. 

Due to the batting prowess at the top, Sutherland has seen herself batting as late as number 7 or number 8. Despite this, her abilities with the ball make the all-rounder a non-negotiable feature in the side. She has scored just 208 runs from 23 innings at a strike rate of over 135, but has been clinical with the ball, with 44 scalps in 44 innings.

Nitschke has backed the all-rounder for a finisher role due to her versatility and batting repertoire, and believes that she is at the cusp of breaking out in the shortest format. 

"I think it's a tricky one for Bells. Domestically she bats quite high up the order but has sort of found herself in that middle order finishing role for us, and I think she certainly can take that role on. She has shown that she can make runs up top but she's also showed that she's got some tricks and a 360 [degree] game to play that middle to finishing role as well," Nitschke told reporters, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.

"I actually think she's really versatile and she's probably on the cusp of really, I think, blowing her T20 game open. I think domestically she's been really successful at different times, probably for us hasn't quite had that same success, but I expect to see her having an impact with both bat and ball throughout this tournament," she added.

Sutherland sat out of the recent series against the West Indies after featuring against India. Her last competitive appearance for Australia saw her score a brilliant 129 in the WACA Test against India. She stated that sitting out of the West Indies series provided her with a much-needed break to refresh before the T20 World Cup.

"I think it's obviously tough when your team-mates are playing and I absolutely love playing for and representing Australia, so I missed that - but I knew it was the right call for me, to be honest. Physically, mentally, just to refresh and prioritise what I needed to make sure that I'm raring to go for when it matters most - which is this T20 World Cup," Sutherland told cricket.com.au in a recent interview. 

Australia kicks off their T20 World Cup campaign against South Africa at Old Trafford on June 13, in a repeat of the semi-final from the 2024 edition.