Sutherland shines as history is made at the MCG

MCC member Annabel Sutherland has shone on cricket’s biggest stage – etching her name on the MCG Honour Boards and finishing the summer with one of Australian cricket’s biggest awards.

Following on from a record-breaking Boxing Day Test, the second Test match at the MCG of the summer again saw attendance records fall, a 75-year drought gone and four new names – one of them Sutherland - added among the greats.

The Women’s Ashes Test – held at the MCG from January 30 to February 1 this year saw Australia claim an empathic win over rivals England, retain the Women’s Ashes urn and claim a clean sweep of the 2025 Ashes Series.

The last Women’s Test match at the MCG was played in January 1949 between Australia and England, with the match finishing in a draw. Since then, Women’s Test cricket has been absent from the MCG schedule – until last week when the women’s version of the traditional format of the game returned to the People’s Ground.

75-years in the making, this Test also broke a world record for a Women’s Test match attendance. The previous record of 23,207 - set during the five-day Test at Trent Bridge in 2023 - was broken on Day 2, with the total attendance at the end of play on Day 3 finishing at 35,365 – over 12,000 higher than the previous record.

The MCC’s own Annabel Sutherland starred for Australia with the bat – making 163 runs from 258 balls, which saw her become the very first female cricketer to make a Test century on the MCG – and the first female addition to the Honour Boards since 1935.

Sutherland’s effort saw her named Player of the Match for her brilliance with the bat.

Three additional names joined Sutherland on the Honour Boards during the match – Australia’s Beth Mooney (106), Alana King (5/53) and England’s Sophie Ecclestone (5/143).

Located in the change rooms of the home and away teams, these Honour Boards previously held the names of just one female – Peggy Antonio – who claimed 6/49 in the very first Women’s Test match at the MCG back in 1935.

Following the conclusion of the Test, the Australian Cricket Awards were held, which saw Sutherland named the Belinda Clark Award recipient.

Named for ICC Hall of Fame inductee Belinda Clark AO, the Belinda Clark Award is the highest honour in female cricket in the country.

Polling 168 votes for the 12 month period, Sutherland won by 25 runs over teammate Ashleigh Gardner.

Congratulations Annabel!