'Tremendous' Will Sutherland named as Victoria's Sheffield Shield skipper

Will Sutherland is touted as one of the finest young talents in Australian cricket at the moment. Primarily a right-arm pacer, the 23-year-old also has decent skills with the willow in hand. He has been given the responsibility of leading Victoria in the impending Sheffield Shield competition. Sutherland will take over the role from Peter Handscomb.

It is interesting to note that Sutherland led Victoria in four Shield matches when Handscomb went to India to play in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year. The talented youngster is also going to lead Australia A in the three 50-over matches they are scheduled to play against New Zealand A, beginning on Sunday, September 10.

Cricket Australia (CA) selectors gave Sutherland the opportunity to lead the Australia A side ahead of the experienced Ashton Turner. The right-handed batter, who is also in the squad, has a phenomenal record as captain. Turner has led Western Australia to two Marsh Cup titles and Perth Scorchers to two BBL titles.

Handscomb, who has led Victoria to the Shield finals in the last two seasons and lost to Western Australia on both occasions, will continue his captaincy role in the Marsh Cup competition. The 32-year-old said that Sutherland has all the makings of a great leader and assured he would be there to assist the youngster both on and off the field.

"Will is a tremendous leader and has all the right attributes to succeed as a captain. 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," Handscomb was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

It's an honour to captain Victoria: Will Sutherland

Sutherland expressed his excitement at being named the captain of Victoria's red-ball setup. He also said the Handscomb supported him immensely during the change of captaincy.

"Pete has been a fantastic captain for us and has been incredibly supportive of me taking on this responsibility. 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," Sutherland said.