Green-tinged track could open door for Sutherland

Teenage allrounder Annabel Sutherland could well be in line for a Test debut given her standout bowling performance against India on Sunday and a green-tinged pitch at the Gold Coast's Metricon Stadium.

Australia coach Matthew Mott joined his captain Meg Lanning as another to sing Sutherland's praises in recent days, describing the Victorian's three-wicket haul in the third ODI defeat in Mackay as "pretty special" when asked about the potential make-up of his XI for Thursday's one-off Test.

"She's definitely in the mix," Mott said of Sutherland, who had to wait almost a year for an international recall after playing her first three ODIs last October. "What we saw the other day I thought was pretty special.

"We talk to our players who are not getting opportunities about the need – when you get that opportunity – to really grasp it, and I don't think she could've done much better the other day.

"Little things as well, like, she's a very structured player, and she got out for a first-ball duck (in the 50th over) but she came out with great intent.

"So she's evolving all the time, and that standout performance the other day has certainly put her in contention, and looking at that wicket, she's another bowler who could exploit those conditions."

Sutherland, who teammate Alyssa Healy said on the broadcast mic on Sunday bowled a "heavier ball" than most of her fast-bowling counterparts, blew the contest wide open with a sizzling spell that accounted for the wickets of India middle-order trio Richa Ghosh, Mithali Raj and Pooja Vastrakar.

It prompted Lanning to give her young charge more overs than had initially been planned, and the skipper was glowing in her endorsement of the performance post-match.

"She was excellent," Lanning said. "I thought she hit her lengths really well, was consistent with her lines and turned the game back in our favour, which for such a young player is a great thing.

"She's had to wait her turn a little bit to get her crack and today was her opportunity, and I thought she did a great job."

Also working in the right-armer's favour is her ability with the bat, which has been seen only in glimpses at international level, chiefly via an impressive 35 from number three in her third ODI, and a quick-fire 22 from 11 balls which she hammered against England on her T20I debut.

And with Rachael Haynes today ruled out of the Test with a hamstring injury, and Beth Mooney likely to shuffle up to open, a spot in the lower middle-order is there for the taking.

Mott was noticeably excited by the prospect of a good covering of grass remaining on the pitch for day one, and with storms and overcast skies forecast for the Gold Coast until Friday, it could offer plenty for the fast bowlers, particularly with a pink ball under lights. 

"It looks really good. One of the things we were hoping for was grass, and there's plenty of grass on it, and I think that's exciting for everyone – for both teams," he said.

"It is a couple of days out obviously, I think (the curator will) probably give it a shave before the Test match starts, but it's a good sign.

"For the last couple of years in women's Tests, all the coaches have been asking for pace in the wicket and grass on it, so it's going to be a fantastic surface for both teams.

"There's also talk of a bit of rain around (and the pitch) potentially sweating under the covers."

Mott was also enthused by the form across this series to date of a host of his young fast bowlers, with teenagers Darcie Campbell, Hannah Darlington, Stella Campbell and Sutherland, as well as 25-year-old Tahlia McGrath, all showcasing their talents at different times.

"What I've really loved about this series for us is, it's given us a new dimension," he said. "We've relied pretty heavily on some world-class bowlers over the last couple of years but these young quicks coming through have thrown in a different perspective and it makes us a hard team to set up against.

"That's what we found in that last (ODI), even though we didn't win the game, the quicks coming on in those middle overs and just hitting some hard lengths was very effective. 

"We're happy with whatever the conditions are but I know there'll be a few excited young fast bowlers around at the moment."

CommBank Series v India

Australia lead India 4-2 on points

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Darcie Brown, Maitlan Brown, Stella Campbell, Nicola Carey, Hannah Darlington, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Redmayne, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

India Test and ODI squad: Mithali Raj (c), Harmanpreet Kaur (vc), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Punam Raut, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Yastika Bhatia, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Shikha Pandey, Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Richa Ghosh, Ekta Bisht.

India T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Yastika Bhatia, Shikha Pandey, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Richa Ghosh (wk), Harleen Deol, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh.

First ODI:Australia won by nine wickets

Sep 24: Australia won by five wickets

Sep 26: India won by two wickets

Sep 30 – Oct 3: Test match, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast (D/N)

Oct 7: First T20, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast

Oct 9: Second T20, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast

Oct 10: Third T20, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast