Bowling to Sachin Tendulkar will be a memory for the rest of my life: Annabel Sutherland

Annabel Sutherland, the 18-year-old Australian women’s cricketer, made her international debut earlier this year in February during a tri-series, involving England and India. In the same month, she had her joy doubled after she got the chance to bowl to the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. It was during the Bushfire Bash relief match at the Junction Oval in Melbourne.

Prior to the fund-raising match, Aussie all-rounder Ellyse Perry challenged the Master Blaster to face an over. The face-off took place in the mid-innings break. After the dynamic Perry bowled four balls at Sachin, she handed the ball over to the young Sutherland, who’s also the daughter of former Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland.

It was an exciting moment for all of us: Annabel Sutherland

Going down the memory lane, Annabel reckons that she’s going to cherish those moments for the rest of her live. She had butterflies in her stomach and also remembers how Sachin drove one of her gentle half-volleys down the ground.

“I was fielding at mid-off, I think Ellyse Perry bowled three or four balls and then she threw the ball to me, it was very kind of her, I’ll remember bowling to Sachin Tendulkar for the rest of my life, the nerves were very high considering I bowled to him,” Sutherland was quoted as saying in a video shared by cricket.com.au.

“I bowled a half volley to him, but Sachin was very kind that he hit it straight down the pitch, it was an exciting moment for all of us to be out there, it was awesome,” she added.

In six T20Is, Annabel has scored 32 runs at an average of 16 along with picking up a couple of wickets. In her very first game against Heather Knight’s England at the Manuka Oval in Canberra, she gave a glimpse of her talent. Batting at eight, she got 22 off 11 with four fours.

She helped her team take the game into the Super Over after the Aussies lost their way in the middle. The woman prodigy also went on to play three matches in the T20 World Cup in Australia. There she scored a couple of runs and picked up the wicket of Bangladesh’s Sanjida Islam.