Exciting youngster, Will Sutherland, has elected to pursue a professional cricket career over AFL football.
Sutherland, the son of Cricket Australia CEO, James, starred for Vic Metro in the recent under-18 championship and was expected to be a high draft pick if he chose football.
However, the 18-year-old dual sports gun, confirmed on Sunday he has chosen to pursue a cricket career.
"This was an incredibly tough decision. Most of the advice that I received was to just follow my passion. That sounds easy enough, but not so much when my passion is for both sports," Sutherland said in a statement.
"I really loved my experience in the recent Under 18 National Championships when representing Vic Metro and this only made the decision more difficult.
"When it came down to it, my love and passion for the game of cricket just won out. I've thoroughly enjoyed representing my state and country in the under-age ranks and the prospect of potentially being able to continue this at the senior level is very much my dream.
"I'm excited and relieved about this decision and will now look to focus on completing my Year 12 studies."
General Manager of Cricket at Cricket Victoria Shaun Graf, said he is thrilled the sport has secured such an exciting young talent.
"We're pleased Will has made this decision and we look forward to supporting him through the rest of his Year 12 studies and his Cricket Pathway," he said.
"The full Cricket Victoria squad lists for the upcoming 2017-18 season will be announced following the resolution of an MOU."
Standing at 195cm tall, Sutherland had made his mark as a key forward at junior level, but was also seen as having the ability to push into the midfielder.
As a cricketer, Sutherland is a talented all-rounder.
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