Australian dual sports star chooses a career in cricket over football

Australia’s super talented dual sports star Will Sutherland has revealed his decision to pursue professional cricket career over football. Son of Cricket Australia’s (CA) chief executive James Sutherland, Will released a statement on Sunday saying it had been an “incredibly tough” call for him to choose willow over soccer. Will has led Australia at Under-19 level and also been among the most closely watched AFL players at junior level.

Sutherland would usually be considered a top-10 pick in the player draft, revealed AFL talent manager Kevin Sheehan. There had been brewing a confidence in the football circuit that Sutherland, a talented tall forward, would choose to play the sport professionally after starring with Scotch College, and then impressing for Vic Metro at the recent national championships, even though he hadn’t played for Sandringham Dragons in the TAC Cup.

Sutherland would thus have been touted as a likely first-round draft pick this year had he selected football. However, the 17-year-old prodigal sports star has chosen to accept the offer of a multi-year rookie deal with Victoria rather than nominating for the AFL draft.

Tough decision

Speaking to Cricbuzz about his choice, Sutherland said, “This was an incredibly tough decision,” Sutherland said. “Most of the advice that I received was to just follow my passion. That sounds easy enough, but not so much when my passion is for both sports.

“I really loved my experience in the recent Under-18 National Championships when representing Vic Metro and this only made the decision more difficult. When it came down to it, my love and passion for the game of cricket just won out.

Will Sutherland has established himself as a powerful batsman and strong fast-medium bowler. However, the details of his contract with Victoria Bushrangers are yet to be finalised until a MoU is agreed between CA and the Australian Cricketers Association.