Bonus points decisive, but Voges wants outright win

Western Australia coach Adam Voges is adamant his side wants to win the Marsh Sheffield Shield final outright despite first-innings points being enough to claim a drought-breaking title in the event of a drawn outcome.

For just the third time since the Shield final was introduced 39 years ago, first-innings bonus points will determine who wins if the decider ends in a stalemate after five days.

Western Australia and Victoria will contest the final of the 120th Sheffield Shield at the WACA beginning on Thursday with the hosts looking to break a 23-year title drought that dates back to the 1998-99 season.

WA will also be looking to bring all three men's domestic titles home to Perth after winning the Marsh One-Day Cup earlier this month and the Scorchers taking out the KFC BBL|11 crown in January.

Victoria, the competition's second-most successful team behind NSW (47 titles), will be hoping to secure their 33rd Sheffield Shield.

"We'll go out to win the game," Voges said ahead of this week's final. "I think conditions will produce a result; I think the wicket will be fairly similar to last week.

"(The bonus point system is) a great innovation, it gives the away team more opportunity to try and win the game. We're on the other side of it (from) last time we played in the Shield final (in 2014-15) but it gives incentive to win the game and that's what we'll be going out to do."

When the Shield final was introduced for the first time in 1982-83, it was determined that a drawn decider would mean the team that finished on top of the ladder in the regular season would be crowned the champions.

But for the 2018-19 season, the bonus points system that is used during the regular season was added to the final to avoid the home team preparing a flat pitch to achieve a draw and capture the title.

Initially introduced as a one-year trial, the bonus points system was used in the final last season when Queensland defeated NSW at Allan Border Field and will again be used in this week's decider.

Four of the past eight Shield finals have ended in draws, while only six of the past 38 finals have been won by the side that finished second on the ladder.

But since the bonus points system has been introduced as the way to settle a drawn final, neither decider has ended in a stalemate, with the top side winning both encounters.

In 2018-19, Victoria beat NSW by 177 runs inside four days at the Junction Oval, with the 2019-20 final cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic before Queensland defeated NSW by an innings and 33 runs, again in four days, to claim the 2020-21 title.

If last week's final-round precursor between Western Australia and Victoria at the WACA is anything to go by, a drawn final again seems unlikely, but with rain possible in Perth across the first four days, bonus points may come into play.

The bonus point system works like this: the batting side receives 0.01 points for every run scored beyond 200 in its first 100 overs of its first innings. The bowling side receives 0.1 points for every wicket taken inside the first 100 overs of its opponents' first innings.

For example: Victoria win the toss and bat and are 5-320 after 100 overs, meaning they receive 1.2 points and Western Australia 0.5 points. Then in reply, if WA are bowled out for 290 in 90 overs, they would earn 0.9 points, and Victoria 1.0 points for taking 10 wickets.

Add them together and Victoria would have 2.2 bonus points and WA 1.4, meaning the Vics would take the title if the match ends in a draw.

For the bonus points system to come into play, the match must last at least 270 overs. If the bonus points are equal after two innings and the match is a draw, the team that finished in first place takes home the Shield.

Last year, Queensland bowled NSW out in their first innings for 143 in 62.2 overs, meaning the Bulls received 1.0 points and the Blues zero. In reply, Queensland were 3-248 after 100 overs, taking their bonus points tally for the match to 1.48, with NSW earning 0.3.

In the end, it didn't matter as NSW were bowled out for 213 in their second innings and Queensland weren't required to bat again.

Victoria coach Chris Rogers hinted that Jon Holland may be recalled to the XI with the fifth day in the season decider a factor, after the spinner was left out of their four-day clash at WACA last week.

"If the game is going to go for five days, then you'd like to think a spinner is going to play an important role in that," he told cricket.com.au.

"If he does play it's up to us to compete and then get into a position where he can bowl and attack their batters."

The Marsh Sheffield Shield final will be broadcast live on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports, as well as streamed free on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app