Wollongong firms as venue for Shield final as NSW extend lead

Wollongong has firmed to host its first Marsh Sheffield Shield final after New South Wales extended their advantage atop the standings with a comprehensive win over South Australia on Thursday.

Last season's runnners-up took a big lead after Daniel Hughes' twin tons and Trent Copeland's nine-wicket haul fired the Blues to their sixth win of the season at Bankstown Oval.

Cricket NSW has confirmed North Dalton Park on the state's south coast will host next month's five-day decider should the Blues hold their current spot with two regular-season rounds remaining.

Their 133-run victory over the Redbacks sees them take a 15.88-point lead over second-placed Queensland, whose loss to Victoria saw the reigning champions rise to third place, though the Vics remain nearly 20 points behind the Blues.

Even if the Bulls win their two remaining games and the Blues lose theirs, the latter’s current lead would still likely see them remain in top spot.

Their win over SA all but assured them of finishing no lower than second, guaranteeing them a place in the final.

Only 9.29 points now separate second-placed Queensland and bottom-of-the-ladder Tasmania (who won a see-sawing encounter over fourth-placed Western Australia on Thursday) meaning all teams remain in the hunt for a berth in the decider.

States get six points for a win, one point for a draw, as well as 0.01 of a point for every run above 200 they score and 0.1 of a point for every wicket they take within the first 100 overs of their first batting and bowling innings.

North Dalton Park will host a New South Wales XI v England Lions tour game from Monday. The ground has also hosted a Rebel WBBL game during each of the past two seasons, as well as Sheffield Shield games in 2017 and 2018.

Should they earn hosting rights, it will be the fourth home venue the Blues have used this season after matches at the SCG as well as Drummoyne and Bankstown Ovals in suburban Sydney.

The SCG was unavailable due to the start of the Australian Football League season with the Sydney Swans to play their first home game on March 27, the day the Shield final is scheduled to start.

Defeated in last season's final by Victoria, NSW have not lifted the silverware since they hosted and beat Western Australia at Canberra's Manuka Oval six years ago.

Last year's final was the first played under a revised set of rules that were designed to address the prevalence of drawn finals, often due to flat pitches and the home team approaching the game knowing a stalemate will see them lift the trophy.

A widely-praised change to the regulations now sees the team that gets the most bonus points in their first innings (under the same system used during the regular season) crowned champions in the event of a draw.

NSW typically have more national representatives than any other state, meaning they generally must contend with a great deal of player turnover, and despite that again being the case this summer, they have comfortably been the competition's standout side.

They could get the likes of Josh Hazlewood and Sean Abbott for the Shield decider should that pair miss selection for a T20 series in New Zealand that overlaps with the Shield final.

The likes of Steve Smith, David Warner and Pat Cummins however remain unlikely to be available.

"It was a really big win in the context of our season … It is a massive result for us," Copeland said on Thursday.

"We have had changing teams with national selections and the like.

"It is always a challenge for NSW cricket but we pride ourselves on being good no matter who is playing.

"The beauty is the depth of our squad and no matter who comes up against us, they know they are up for a challenge."