Sutherland, Handscomb to lead Victoria this summer

Cricket Victoria is pleased to announce that Will Sutherland will take the reins as Victoria’s captain for the 2023-24 Marsh Sheffield Shield season.

Sutherland, who captained the Sheffield Shield side last year due to Peter Handscomb’s selection for Test duties, will take on the role following a stellar First-Class season, where he took a competition-high 41 wickets and hit 467 runs.

Handscomb will retain captaincy duties for the Marsh One-Day Cup side and play an important role in assisting Sutherland in his new duties.

Cricket Victoria’s Head of Male Cricket, David Hussey, said Sutherland had impressed during his time as captain last season and was ready to take on the role.

“Will is an excellent leader and this is the natural next step for him in his career,” he said.

“He has long been seen as a future captain within Victorian cricket. After having a superb 2022-23 season – where he led the competition in wickets, hit his first ever Shield hundred and led the side superbly in Pete’s absence – he’s earned this opportunity.

“Pete is a great of Victorian cricket. He has been a phenomenal captain for Victoria for a long time and will continue to lead us in the one-day format.

“He’s incredibly supportive of this transition with Will – and we see this as a great time to make the change, with Pete and a number of senior players around the group to support Will as needed. We look forward to Will and Pete leading our teams this summer and pushing for silverware in both formats for Victoria.”

Handscomb, who hit 634 runs at an average of 70.44 in the Sheffield Shield last season, said that the time was right to hand the role over to Sutherland.

“Will is a tremendous leader and has all the right attributes to succeed as a captain,” Handscomb said.

“I have absolutely loved leading Victoria in the Sheffield Shield, but it’s now Will’s time to take our side forward.

“I’m still excited to be captaining our One-Day side and will be doing everything I can to support Will and the rest of the squad, both on and off the field.”

Sutherland paid tribute to Handscomb, while saying that he feels prepared for this next step in his career.

“Pete has been a fantastic captain for us and has been incredibly supportive of me taking on this responsibility,” he said.

“It’s an honour to captain Victoria. I loved the chance I had to captain the side last season while Pete was in India and am looking forward to taking on the challenge this season.

“Knowing I have the support of Pete, Chris and the rest of the coaching and playing group fills me with a lot of confidence and I can’t wait to get started.”

Victoria kicks off their one-day season at the CitiPower Centre against Tasmania and New South Wales on the 25th and 29th of September, before taking on the Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield from the 4th of October at the WACA.