Sutherland in rare air with incredible Test ton from No.8

Annabel Sutherland has struck the fastest Test century by an Australian woman, bringing up her maiden international hundred before lunch on day two of the Ashes Test at Trent Bridge.

Sutherland, batting at No.8 in a deep Australian line-up, resumed on 39 on Friday morning and brought up triple figures less than two hours later.

She had seen off a tricky period late on the opening day after arriving in the middle with Australia 6-238, and settled into her work on Friday morning to reach her first international half-century in any format from 100 deliveries.

Looking rock solid and confident against the red ball, Sutherland then hit the accelerator, with her next 50 runs coming off 48 balls.

Her 148-ball ton is the fourth-fastest recorded in women’s Tests – and the fastest by an Australian, beating Jill Kennare’s 156-ball ton against England in 1984. Sutherland is the third woman to hit a Test ton batting at No.8.

By lunch, she had moved to 116 not out to claim the highest Test score by a No.8, passing Karen Price’s 104no and Chamani Seneviratna’s 105no.

And at 21, she is the youngest Australian since Belinda Clark in 1991 to score a Test century.

Sutherland joked on the Sky Sports broadcast as she came off for the lunch break on day two that she'd been telling Australia head coach Shelley Nitschke "for a little while" to get her up the order.

"But I'm just happy playing my part in this team, we've got a pretty strong top order (and) it's pretty hard to slot in," she said.

Image Id: CA3845579D7E4E46BB3330E636FAEC8C Image Caption: Sutherland celebrates reaching her century // Getty

"It's just taking an opportunity when I get the chance down at eight."

Sutherland ensured Australia posted a mammoth first innings total after Alyssa Healy won the toss and elected to bat first.

Having resumed at 7-328 on Friday morning they added another 111 runs for the loss of one wicket in the morning session to go into lunch at 8-439.

The Victorian reached the milestone with a flick to deep midwicket for four, removing her helmet and gesturing towards her delighted teammates on the pavilion balcony.

Sutherland eventually ran out of batting partners, finishing unbeaten on 137 from 184 balls with 16 fours and a six as Australia were bowled out for 473.

She then underlined her all-round value to the Australian team by picking up the first England wicket in her first over of the match, removing Emma Lamb for 10 caught at second slip.

This Ashes Test is Sutherland’s third in the Baggy Green having debuted against India in 2021, and her breakthrough century comes after she also posted a ton opening the batting in last week’s three-day warm-up game in Leicester.

Sutherland helped steer Australia past 400 on the second morning of the five-day game, with debutant Kim Garth holding up the other end after the eighth wicket fell when the allrounder was on 59.

The allrounder debuted in T20Is in 2020 but has mainly been deployed as a bowler at international level due to the depth in Australia’s batting; in 34 matches across all formats this is just her 16th innings.

However, her development with bat in hand has been evident at domestic level, where she struck two centuries in six 50-over matches last summer.

CommBank Ashes Tour of the UK 2023

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham

England Test squad: Heather Knight (c), Natalie Sciver-Brunt (vc), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Kate Cross, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Danielle Gibson, Amy Jones, Emma Lamb, Issy Wong, Danielle Wyatt

Test: June 22-26 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, 11am local (8pm AEST)

First T20I: July 1 at Edgbaston, Birmingham, 6.35pm (3.35am July 2 AEST)

Second T20I: July 5 at The Oval, London, 6.35pm (3.35am July 6 AEST)

Third T20I: July 8 at Lord’s, London, 6.35pm (3.35am July 9 AEST)

First ODI: July 12 at The County Ground, Bristol, 1pm (10pm AEST)

Second ODI: July 16 at The Rose Bowl, Southampton, 11am (7pm AEST)

Third ODI: July 18 at The County Ground, Taunton, 1pm (10pm AEST)