SUTHERLAND: HEADINGLEY A GREAT PLACE FOR AUSTRALIA TO CHASE SECOND WIN
Media release
Headingley has become a home away from home for Annabel Sutherland in recent years, and the Australian all-rounder is excited to use her inside knowledge in Leeds.
The 24-year-old has played in The Hundred in Leeds since 2024 and was a key figure in a title-winning campaign last year alongside Phoebe Litchfield.
Sutherland returns to the venue on Wednesday 17 June with six-time winners Australia taking on Bangladesh at 10:30am in their second match at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.
Both sides enjoyed an opening victory thanks to impressive batting displays and Sutherland is expecting the Headingley pitch to offer those batting a chance to cash in.
“It definitely does [feel like I’m coming home],” said Sutherland. “Phoebes and I were talking about that, and it is pretty nice to be back. It’s a beautiful place to play cricket and hopefully a bit of a crowd shows up on Wednesday.
“I love playing here, so that’s the first thing and it's a pretty good place to bat. It looks like a good wicket, but if the practice wickets are anything to go by, there’s still a little bit in it for the bowlers. Generally, it is a fast outfield and a good place to bat.”
Bangladesh chased down a target of 140 against the Netherlands on Sunday thanks to Juairiya Ferdous’ explosive half-century and Sharmin Akter Supta’s unbeaten 37.
Sutherland revealed she had been keeping an eye on the game at Edgbaston, the day after Australia had beaten South Africa by 65 runs in their opener, and felt ready to deal with the threat the Tigresses pose.
“I saw the game and they’ve got some hitters which is cool,” Sutherland continued. “Probably their spinners [is one of their strengths], [they’ve got] some crafty spinners. We’ve played a little bit against them during the last couple of years, and we had a good series in Bangladesh against them.
“We feel like we’ve got a good sense of their bowlers and we review teams really, really well. We’ve done that and we feel like we’re confident coming into the game.”
Despite nine places separating tenth-ranked Bangladesh and World No.1 Australia in the ICC Women's T20I Team Rankings, Juairiya insists her country are capable of coming out on top in their clash and said she is looking forward to continuing her aggressive approach with the bat.
“Australia is a very strong team, so it will be a big challenge for us to perform well and try to win,” she said. “Our target will definitely be to win the match. Personally, I feel that the approach I had [against the Netherlands] was good, especially the intent to score more runs off fewer balls.
“Against Australia, I will try to maintain the same approach. My focus will be on making the best use of the powerplay and playing a big innings.”
The 20-year-old is part of the next generation of female Bangladeshi cricketers coming through and the impact the right-hander and her teammates could have on those watching back home was not lost on her.
She added: “If we can achieve something good here, it will inspire many young girls back home. Seeing us perform on this stage will increase their interest in cricket and encourage more of them to get involved in the game. As more girls take up cricket, the pipeline of players will become stronger, and competition for places in the national team will increase.
“Gradually, the overall standard of women's cricket in Bangladesh will improve, and the team will continue to perform better. If we can achieve good results, it may also bring more opportunities and even better opportunities for women's cricket in the future. That's what we hope for.”