Cricket players on radar of clubs
James O’Donnell’s 35-day transformation from Essendon District fast bowler to AFL debutant has stimulated interest in recruiting cricketers – but three Victorian young guns have dismissed approaches – for now.
Wil Parker, Will Sutherland and Zak Evans have had multiple clubs make recent inquiries and while phone calls for Evans and Sutherland in particular have been an annual event, the O’Donnell factor has clubs thinking harder about cricketers they could poach.
Western Bulldogs signed O’Donnell as a Category B rookie on April 6 and he made his debut last Saturday night after playing just three VFL games.
Coach Luke Beveridge said the 197cm forward had some “really good moments” against Carlton and locked him in to play again against Adelaide.
Sutherland was touted as a top-10 draft pick in 2017 before committing to cricket, and about up to 10 AFL clubs have repeatedly attempted to lure him back ever since.
But Sutherland, 23, is viewed as Victorian captain Peter Handscomb’s likely successor and shapes as a future Test allrounder.
He was last season’s leading Sheffield Shield wicket-taker, captained the Vics to four wins and won the Bill Lawry Medal as their best player.
Evans, 23, and Parker, 20, have also told AFL clubs recently that they are all-in on their cricketing dreams but their careers are less certain.
After finding O’Donnell it’s understood that the Dogs were one of several clubs that asked about Parker, who is the nephew of Port Adelaide’s recruiting manager Geoff Parker.