Shield final a crucial fixture: White, O'Donnell

With the immediate future of the Sheffield Shield final in doubt beyond the current battle taking place in Glenelg, two men with a wealth of first-class experience have thrown their support behind continuation of the fixture.

Cameron White, presently playing for Victoria against South Australia in this season's edition of the final – which maybe the last – and former Australia one-day star Simon O'Donnell, have both stressed the importance of the match to domestic players.

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The Shield final is played over five days and with the top-placed side being granted the advantage of only needing a draw to be crowned champions, it is seldom a thrilling spectacle. 

In recent times, Cricket Australia have indicated the final could be scrapped and the Sheffield Shield awarded to the top-placed side at the end of the season, an idea fervently opposed by many current and former players.

White has played in five Shield finals and out of those, Victoria have won (or drawn, and been awarded the silverware) each time they played at home and lost the two times they've played away – results reflective of how the matches generally pan out.

But White, who was captain of the Bushrangers in four of those five finals, insists he and other state cricketers want the Shield final to remain.

"I think having played in a few, and just the feeling you get, from not only players in our team but also speaking to (players from) other teams, it's something that they want to keep," White said on Wednesday.

"There's been a fair bit of discussion around that in the last few years, but I think it's a great opportunity for players and individuals to really stand up across five days in a pressure situation with the best two teams playing.

"National selectors take notice of performances in Shield finals, so I think it's a good thing that it remains and goes ahead."

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O'Donnell, who played four Tests and 87 ODIs for Australia, is also an ardent supporter of keeping the Shield final, adding that the only change he'd make is to have reserve days in case of rain, to ensure a result.

He believes the final provides vital preparation for domestic players wanting to prove they're ready for the rigours of international cricket.

"The kind of pressure you were put under over the course of five days – it was tough, hard cricket over a long stretch of time," O'Donnell told cricket.com.au about his own experiences in the 1987 and 1991 Shield finals.

"I can't stress enough how important they are. To play a whole season of cricket and to not get a fitting conclusion is in my mind a waste of time.

"With 22 of the best players in the country playing, Shield finals are hard-fought affairs and they really prepare guys for the next level.

"Elite sport needs conclusions and it'd be a real disappointment if we didn't get one."

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In Victoria's 2005-06 Shield final loss to Queensland, White sent down 50 wicket-less overs of leg-spin as the Bulls piled on 900 first-innings runs – it was hardly an entertaining match for even the most devout cricket fans.

A decade later, the Shield final remains much the same – last year, top-placed Victoria ground out a gruelling draw to claim the trophy over Western Australia – but Australia's cricket landscape has changed.

The KFC Big Bash League has increased in prominence over the course of its five editions, which in turn has subjected domestic cricketers to the kind of pressure they only used to face in matches such as the Shield final.

It's a comparison made by White, but he believes both the BBL and the Shield final need to remain in order to prepare potential Australian players for the international stage. 

"(The Shield final) is a bit like what the Big Bash is for a domestic player, but in a Twenty20 version," he explains. "It's the most pressure you can be under without playing for Australia.

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"The Shield final is the same. You're under the spotlight for five days, a lot of concentration and mental application (is required).

"That's why it's pretty good to have from a domestic player's point of view."

While O'Donnell understands the cricket has changed immensely since he finished playing in the early 90s, he stresses the importance of having a climax to the Sheffield Shield season and believes that Twenty20s don't provide the same challenges as four- and five-day cricket.

"It's hard to say because I never played in a T20," he said. "But the kind of pressure you face in the eighth over of a T20 compared to what you're up against on the first day of Shield final, you can't compare them.

"Finals, no matter if they're in D-Grade of your local club competition, are huge regardless and there's a step up in intensity and pressure.

"You don't have that same intensity in the regular season and to not have a Shield final would be a big loss for state cricketers."