The biggest prize of the domestic summer is set to be hotly contested, with five states still in the running to make the final
Road to the Sheffield Shield final
With two rounds to go and five out of the six states in contention for a spot in the final, the 2015-16 Sheffield Shield title race is wide open.
The Commonwealth Bank Bushrangers remain top of the table and despite their recent loss to bottom side Tasmania, Victoria look the team to beat going into the business end of the season.
But with New South Wales and the Alcohol.Think Again Western Warriors – who were fourth and fifth respectively going into the last round – both winning their most recent matches, every team bar Tasmania remains in the hunt for a Shield final berth.
Below, we take a look at the fixtures for the remaining two rounds, each team’s top performers and their road to the Shield final.
FIXTURE:
Round nine - March 5 - 8
Tasmania v New South Wales at Blundstone Arena, Hobart
Queensland v Victoria at the Gabba, Brisbane
Western Australia v South Australia at the WACA, Perth
Round ten - March 15 - 18
Queensland v Western Australia at the Gabba, Brisbane
South Australia v Tasmania at Gliderol Stadium, Glenelg
Victoria v New South Wales at Traeger Park, Alice Springs
Sheffield Shield final - 26 March - 30 March
1st place v 2nd place (venue TBD)
STANDINGS:
Victoria – 1st (45.12 points)
Image Id: ~/media/B7DADB0C52324B1287397E443CBDE51ETop performers so far
After becoming the first man to score a century in each innings on Shield debut, Travis Dean, with 626 runs, has been a revelation for the Bushrangers at the top of the order.
Peter Handscomb (547 runs), Marcus Stoinis (424) and Rob Quiney (458) have all been strong contributors with the stick as well.
On the back of his competition-leading 48 wickets last year, leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed (22 wickets) has had another strong season while quicks Scott Boland (23) and Chris Tremain (22) have been the backbone of the Vics’ strong bowling attack.
Road to the final
As the standout team of the Sheffield Shield to date, Victoria’s crushing innings loss to bottom-of-the-table Tasmania in their last match came as a shock and coach David Saker labelled it a “reality check” for his side.
The Bushrangers will be looking to rediscover their best form against second-placed Queensland in their next match and a victory against the Bulls should be enough to secure top spot on the Shield ladder.
Their final match is against the Blues at Traegar Park in Alice Springs and, because of the unavailability of the MCG and the lack of any other viable first-class venues in the state, Victoria will also ‘host’ the final in the Red Centre if they finish on top of the Shield ladder.
With Peter Siddle joining the ranks of injured Australian fast-bowlers, the Bushrangers will hope to have James Pattinson back in their bid to claim a second successive Sheffield Shield title.
Queensland – 2nd (38.16 points)
Image Id: ~/media/2609DBFDE45442488EEE7793B3A77279Top performers so far
The surprise packets of the competition, Queensland’s success this season has been based on a a number of youngster stepping up.
Aged 19 and 20 respectively, Matt Renshaw (637 runs) and Sam Heazlett (590) are the two leading run-scorers for Queensland, a promising sign for Australian cricket considering the lack of prolific young batsmen in recent years.
Quick Single: Young bats step up in Sheffield Shield
In his final season, veteran James Hopes has had another solid year with both bat and ball (324 runs and 20 wickets), as has young allrounder Jack Wildermuth (226 runs and 16 wickets) while young quicks Mark Steketee (18 wickets), Billy Stanlake (eight wicket in two games) and leggie Mitch Swepson (14 wickets in four games) have all impressed on the bowling front.
Road to the final
Their narrow loss to Western Australia at the WACA in their last match was a blow and the Bulls will face stern tests hosting the Bushrangers and then the Warriors again at the Gabba in their remaining two matches.
If they can win those two games however, Queensland will have a strong chance of hosting the final, which would be a remarkable achievement for a side with so many inexperienced players; their XI against the Warriors featured only four players who have played more than a dozen first-class games.
Quick Single: Bulls refocus after frustrating WA loss
Usman Khawaja’s selection in Australia’s squad for the Qantas Tour of South Africa and the ensuing World Twenty20 is a blow but the Bulls will welcome back Test opener Joe Burns for their remaining matches.
New South Wales – 3rd (35.92 points)
Image Id: ~/media/2D88E5E04BFB487497B290DD498984CETop performers so far
New South Wales’ leading run-scorer, 22-year-old Kurtis Patterson (531 runs) has had a good season and with six different century-makers (Patterson, Steve Smith, Ed Cowan, Daniel Hughes, Nic Maddinson and Ben Rohrer), the Blues have had an even spread of runs throughout their campaign.
The evergreen Doug Bollinger (24 wickets) has led the way with the ball while Steve O’Keefe (17 wickets) is having another good season, demonstrated by his selection as Australia’s second spinner in the washed-out SCG Test against the West Indies earlier this summer.
Road to the final
With their season on the line, the Blues come-from-behind victory over South Australia in Coffs Harbour in their last match was crucial.
The win keeps NSW in the hunt for the Shield title but will have little margin for error in their final two matches, against Tasmania in Hobart and then Victoria in Alice Springs.
Even if they win those matches, NSW’s chances of hosting the final are slim but they could pinch second spot from Queensland if the Bulls falter in either of their remaining matches.
With a raft of Australian selections for the World T20, the loss of Peter Nevill would have been the only surprise for the Blues. Test spinner Nathan Lyon will be a welcome returnee, especially with O’Keefe missing their last game with a broken thumb.
Western Australia – 4th (33.83 points)
Image Id: ~/media/3D3043FB4F5E44FC8AB2AFC65BE26895Top performers so far
With 699 runs and three centuries already this season, opener Cameron Bancroft has had another excellent season after scoring almost 900 runs last summer.
Michael Klinger (597 runs) has also been in great touch with the willow, as has Shaun Marsh (411 runs in just four matches) while Ashton Agar (361 runs) has hit two hundreds from the lower-order.
Left-arm quick Joel Paris (28 wickets from only four-and-a-half games – he replaced Nathan Coulter-Nile after two days of WA’s recent match against Queensland) is the second-leading wicket-taker in the competition while the under-rated Michael Hogan (25 wickets) continues to deliver for the Warriors.
Road to the final
Western Australia kept their season alive with an inspired final-session victory over Queensland at the WACA yesterday.
With less than a point separating the two sides, the Warriors host the Redbacks in their next match in another decisive clash, with both teams needing maximum points to stay afloat in the competition.
WA’s final game away to Queensland looms as an equally important match for Justin Langer’s men.
With Mitch Marsh, Coulter-Nile and Agar all in Australia’s T20 squad, Test batsmen Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh are invaluable additions for the Sandgropers.
The Warriors nonetheless face an uphill battle to win the Shield title.
They are unlikely to be able to finish higher than second and having lost the previous two Shield finals after finishing in that position, they know full well how difficult it is to win against a team that only needs a draw to be crowned champions.
South Australia – 5th (32.87 points)
Image Id: ~/media/BB7F5BF088004B8CB8E625B8B69DBB73Top performers so far
West End Redbacks quick Joe Mennie (37 wickets) has had a breakout year with the ball for South Australia and sits comfortably atop of the Shield’s wicket-takers list.
Swing bowler Daniel Worrall (24 wickets) has also stepped up for the Redbacks this season while Jake Lehmann, son of Australia coach Darren, has led the way with the bat with 527 runs, closely followed by Callum Ferguson (478 runs), now unavailable due to a torn ACL before Christmas, and Mark Cosgrove (448).
Road to the final
Having defeated ladder-leaders Victoria at the MCG in the final game before the BBL break, South Australia were the form team of the competition, breathing down the Bushrangers’ neck and less than a point behind on the ladder.
But three consecutive losses since has dealt a significant blow to the Redbacks’ hopes of a first Shield final appearance in 20 years.
Their final two matches, against WA and Tasmania, are must-win.
Like Ferguson, strike bowler Kane Richardson will miss the remainder of the season through injury and leg-spinner Adam Zampa was a surprise pick for Australia’s World T20 squad.
Recent Test squad call-up Chadd Sayers will therefore be a welcome addition to South Australia’s bowling attack.
Tasmania – 6th (23.77 points)
Image Id: ~/media/348DA7292DF24D2992BA820BB52FC0E8Top performers so far
Ben Dunk (825 runs) has had an excellent season with the bat, having scored the most runs in the competition and his 190 against Victoria in Tasmania’s recent upset win earned him man-of-the-match honours.
With three tons to his name this summer, Tigers captain George Bailey (655 runs) has also been in good touch while young allrounder Beau Webster (373 runs and nine wickets) has been a good find for Tassie.
Andrew Fekete (28 wickets) and Jackson Bird (25) have both had strong seasons with the ball, which resulted in Bird’s selection for the recent Tests against New Zealand.
Road to the final
With only two wins for the summer, Tasmania have disappointed and are no chance of making the Shield final.
And unless they can win their final two matches – against NSW at home and South Australia in Glenelg – and hope the Redbacks lose both of their games, the Tigers look to have the wooden spoon sewn up.
They will be without World T20 squad member James Faulkner for their remaining games and with spots on next year’s contract list up for grabs, the Tigers will be looking for a number of underperforming players to step up.