Telling tears herald Annabel Sutherland's rise to Australia honours

Annabel Sutherland knows as well as anyone that outward displays of emotion have never come too easily to her father. And for 17 years as Cricket Australia's chief executive, James Sutherland wisely thought it best to maintain plenty of reserve in his frequent public appearances to discuss the game and, more often than not, its various ills.

However, the news that Annabel had been chosen, to a degree from left field, for Australia's T20 World Cup squad, brought a rush of happiness and realisation to James that had him shedding tears of joy, to an extent that even his wife Heidi had never witnessed before.

"They were actually playing golf at the time so mum eventually rang back after I'd called her a couple of times - you're not exactly meant to have your phone on the golf course - but I broke the news and they were really, really excited for me," Annabel Sutherland said. "We're a pretty sporty family so we're all really supportive of each other and want each other to do well. They were proud. Mum did tell me she reckons Dad had a bit of a tear, I'm not sure how much truth there is to that, but just really proud and excited for me."

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Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, James Sutherland's recollection of last Friday's revelation was not too dissimilar, as a somewhat terse exchange interrupting the tranquility of a morning round of golf quickly changed to something very different indeed.

"I can recall Heidi saying to Annabel 'I've got to be quick because you're not meant to speak on the golf course, this better be important', and then Annabel told her and Heidi nearly dropped the phone," he said. "Then she told me and it certainly stopped me in my tracks, let's put it that way.

"When I became CEO she hadn't even been born, Heidi was pregnant with Annabel in 2001 and we had that conversation about 'we're about to have our second child and how's it going to be with the job'. So 17 years in the job and 18 years later she gets picked for Australia, so her life has been very much exposed to cricket through what I've been doing and the family's involvement in the game, her two brothers both play and they're incredibly supportive of each other.

"Over the years I've seen the pride that parents have for their kids going on to play for Australia, and it's certainly a reality hit when it's your own. We're all still pinching ourselves, incredibly proud of her, and continually proud at the way she's been able to step up and take her opportunities."

There was more to this, of course, than the tears of a proud father for his daughter. More, perhaps, than even Annabel had known. For it was through her love of cricket and interest in playing it that James, as CA's chief executive, was thrust down from the high vantage point of a leading administrator to the far humbler one of a parent trying to find opportunities for his child to play the game, when her older and younger brothers, Will and Tom, could do so far more readily.

"I felt I was a great proponent of the trial integration of CA with Women's Cricket Australia and very supportive I felt of the women's game, but I actually didn't realise how difficult it is for girls to play the game until I had a daughter who loved the game and wanted to play it," he said. "A place for them to play, an environment where they're coached as individuals rather than just amongst a boys' team.

"The better girls' players of today have largely grown up in an environment where they had to be very courageous to play cricket, because they grew up in an environment where they were often playing in a boys' team. That's great, good on them, but it's not an environment where you're going to grow female participation in a really significant, exponential way.

"We're making inroads, but if you want to play in a girls' team, where's the nearest team? Oh, it's over the other side of town, so you've got to be affirmative, but it should be easier, it should be the ground next door. My passion for growing cricket as a sport for women and girls is not about Annabel, but it's through her and our experiences as a family to understand that I've seen barriers to entry are a lot higher than I thought they were."

At the same time, Annabel found herself learning the game in the Sutherland family backyard alongside Will and Tom, honing all-round skills in large part because her elder brother enjoyed batting for as long as possible. "It's always been me bowling more than I get a hit, because Will's a bit of a backyard bully," she said, laughing. "But that's the role of an older brother, keep the younger siblings in check. We're just super competitive and I remember bowling as fast and hard as I can because I just wanted a hit. It was probably the same for Will and Tom."