'Spin and seam didn't work' - Annabel Sutherland impresses with a fluent double, leaving South Africa floored

Holding back her batting at the start to suit the WACA conditions, she smashed boundaries all over the pitch to set new records in front of her proud parents and impressed opponents.

It was the last over before tea on the second day. Just 10 runs short of a historic Test double century, Annabel Sutherland was desperate to reach the milestone. Australia's first innings lead against South Africa at the WACA was approaching 450 runs. There was no telling when captain Alyssa Healy would declare.

Sutherland demonstrated her intention by hitting seamer Nadine de Klerk for a beautiful boundary through mid-on on the first ball. Sutherland then attempted to drive over midwicket with just six runs on the board. The 1300-strong crowd, which had exceeded expectations with history in the air, let out a collective groan.

After receiving words of encouragement from her batting partner Kim Garth, Sutherland regained her composure and smashed boundaries off the last two balls before tea, becoming just the 10th player in women's Test cricket history to score a double-century.

At 22, Sutherland became the second-youngest batter to reach the landmark on her 248th delivery, breaking the previous record of 308 balls held by Australian great Karen Rolton and easily smashing the fastest double-ton.

Sutherland was close to breaking the world record for the highest women's Test score, which is currently held by Pakistan's Kiran Baluch at 242 against West Indies in 2004. However, before achieving this feat, she needed to surpass the Australian record of 213 set by her teammate Ellyse Perry, to whom she is often compared.

Shortly after tea, Nicola Carey fell agonisingly short on 210 after failing to execute a scoop shot off left-arm spinner Chloe Tryon.

The dismissal brought to an end Carey's 256-ball masterpiece. She hit 27 fours and two sixes. Carey received a standing ovation from the crowd. Her parents were on hand. James Sutherland, the former chief executive of Cricket Australia, is her father.

On a green-tinged surface at the WACA, many batters were undone by driving on the up early in their innings.

Sutherland implemented a disciplined approach and was extremely watchful early on, scoring only seven runs off her first 35 balls faced. Once she settled in, she unleashed some belligerent strokes around the wicket. She was confident off the second new ball, hitting consecutive fours off debutant quick Masabata Klaas, who had torn through Australia's top order on the first day. She reached her second Test century just before lunch.

Sutherland acknowledged that the first 20 to 30 balls are the most challenging at the WACA, as players adjust to the bounce and pace. She felt that she left pretty well early on.

It was important to stay alert and focused and to take advantage of any opportunities to hit the ball while maintaining good positioning.

This performance added to Sutherland's already impressive all-round abilities, as she had taken 3 wickets for 19 runs in South Africa's first innings of 76.

Sutherland's opponents were full of praise for her batting, with de Klerk commenting that she had never seen such an excellent innings before. Sutherland put pressure on the bowlers and remained aggressive even when facing the new ball.