Curious for thoughts on Sutherland generally. At this stage I basically have him as a hedge for Bethell (they'll get at least four overs between them, after all) but the role is deteriorating by the day and his batting hasn't been good enough to make up for it. I actually think Wells in really hurts him because Wells actually knows how to bat in the middle overs unlike the entire rest of their team.
He does, however, fit into the category of "captains who insist on being more involved in the game" potentially even to the team's detriment.
At the moment I have him as E but could swing Turner back in to that spot instead.
Sutherland feels a bit underwhelming to me as well, but I think he’s a hold, with a few key positives:
- He is averaging 60 despite seemingly not playing that well
- He has only lost (I think) one over all season to his teammates. He has lost a couple more to opponents running down totals early (which admittedly could recur). Equally Fergus, Richo and Zampa have all underwhelmed, so I probably don’t see Chief’s overs as being at massive risk.
- He has consistently batted at 7. I thought he might go up the order more frequently as captain. Maybe this is an upside risk, or maybe it’s modest downside versus last season. He batted at 5 and 6 once each last year.
- He has a quick 18 to his name. This could have added a lot of SR points had he got to 20.
