Thrilling final Shield round expected

The final round of a thrilling Sheffield Shield season commences on Tuesday and all six teams have finalised their squads.

Quick Single: Sheffield Shield table

The Commonwealth Bank Bushrangers, myFootDr Queensland Bulls, NSW Blues and West End Redbacks all still have a chance of hosting the final, while The Alcohol.Think Again Western Warriors can still sneak into the decider if results fall their way.

Victoria v New South Wales - Traeger Park, Alice Springs

Both teams have named classy spinners in their squads, so expects spin to play a big part in deciding the winner of this clash.

Quick Single: Shield final venues and scenarios

Test spinner Nathan Lyon and teenager Arjun Nair could feature for the Blues, while the Bushrangers are expected to name Fawad Ahmed and Jon Holland in their final XI.

Victoria were unbeaten in two games in Alice Springs last season - with Ahmed and Holland pivotal in both matches - and skipper Matthew Wade knows the duo will have an important role to play.

"Hopefully the wicket is dry and it will take a little bit of spin," Wade said last week.

"If Jon plays, which I'm assuming he will, he and Fawad Ahmed will go in as two spinners and Chris Tremain and Scott Boland (as pace bowlers), and then we'll use our all-rounders."

Victoria squad: Matthew Wade (C), Fawad Ahmed, Scott Boland, Dan Christian, Travis Dean, Peter Handscomb, Ian Holland, Jon Holland, Rob Quiney, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Tremain, Cameron White

New South Wales squad: Nic Maddinson (c), Sean Abbott, Doug Bollinger, Ryan Carters, Trent Copeland, Harry Conway, Ed Cowan, Daniel Hughes, Nick Larkin, Nathan Lyon, Arjun Nair, Kurtis Patterson, Ben Rohrer

Queensland v Western Australia - Gabba, Brisbane

The Bulls have won three of their four matches since the Christmas break, with their only blemish a narrow 24-run loss to the Warriors at the WACA Ground in February.

Due to their good form the Bulls have been able to name an unchanged squad, while the Warriors have made two changes to what is expected to their final game of the season.

The Warriors have added Sam Whiteman and Jhye Richardson to their squad, with Joel Paris (shin soreness) and Will Bosisto making way.

His team can still mathematically reach the final, but Warriors coach Justin Langer has all but given up on the prospect and is instead concentrating on finishing the season on a high and sending retiring paceman Michael Hogan out on a good note.

"The feeling in the camp is it is season over," Langer said last week.

"When you get hit by injuries and Australian selections, all of a sudden you're depth (is tested).

"To miss Simon Mackin, Jason Behrendorff and Nathan Coulter-Nile for pretty much the whole year. In the first game of the year when we won against Tassie and none of those bowlers are playing this game.

"When you take the backbone of your bowling out, you're going to get tested. We have to keep building that nursery."

Queensland squad: Chris Hartley (c), Joe Burns, Peter George, Sam Heazlett, Charlie Hemphrey, James Hopes, Chris Lynn, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Mark Steketee, Mitch Swepson, Jack Wildermuth

Western Australia squad: Adam Voges (c), Cameron Bancroft, Hilton Cartwright, Marcus Harris, Michael Hogan, Michael Klinger, Shaun Marsh, Josh Nicholas, Liam O'Connor, Jhye Richardson, Nathan Rimmington, Ashton Turner, Sam Whiteman

South Australia v Tasmania at Gliderol Stadium, Glenelg

The Redbacks will need everything to go right for them if they are to sneak into the Shield final, but the one thing they must make sure they do is defeat the Tigers.

Tom Andrews and Cameron Valente come into a 13-man squad, while Nick Benton is unavailable because of a dislocated shoulder.

Joe Mennie is the leading Shield wicket taker this season with 44 scalps and the veteran quick will once again be relied upon to bowl well against Tasmania.

"They're a very good side. At the moment they're sitting bottom of the table, but they definitely have some quality batters, so they're not going to be a walkover by any means," Mennie said.

"We can't underestimate their quality and we'll certainly have to be on top of our game to get the win."

Tasmania have dropped Tim Paine and Sam Rainbird from their squad, with 18-year-old opener Caleb Jewell set to debut.

"He was Australia's leading batsman in the Australian Under 19 tour scoring two centuries as well a century in the Futures League tournament.  He is in great form and we are looking forward to seeing him take his chance," Tigers chairman of selectors Michael Farrell said.

South Australia squad: Travis Head (c), Tom Andrews, Alex Carey, Mark Cosgrove, Jake Lehmann, Joe Mennie, Elliot Opie, Sam Raphael, Alex Ross, Cameron Valente, Chadd Sayers, Jake Weatherald, Daniel Worrall

Tasmania squad: George Bailey (c), Jackson Bird, Alex Doolan, Ben Dunk, Andrew Fekete, Evan Gulbis, Caleb Jewell, Hamish Kingston, Ben McDermott, Clive Rose, Tom Triffitt, Beau Webster