Get the latest team news as the race for a spot in the Sheffield Shield final to play South Australia goes down to the wire
South Australia have booked their spot in the Sheffield Shield final which they will also host in Adelaide as they look to complete the men’s domestic double in 2024-25 after lifting the Dean Jones Trophy by winning the one-day competition earlier this month.
Four teams remain in the hunt to challenge SA for the Shield with Queensland hanging onto second spot by just 1.41 points heading into the final round of the season.
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South Australia squad: Jordan Buckingham, Alex Carey, Henry Hunt, Jake Lehmann, Ben Manenti, Nathan McAndrew, Conor McInerney, Nathan McSweeney (c), Lloyd Pope, Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Henry Thornton
Ins: Alex Carey, Nathan McAndrew
Outs: Brendan Doggett, Harry Nielsen
Test wicketkeeper Alex Carey is set to line up for South Australia against Queensland this weekend and in the final after the state took an unassailable lead at the top of the standings by defeating Victoria last Sunday.
Carey is in hot form with scores of 69 and 61 in his two innings at the Champions Trophy, while he also made 156 in the second Test in Sri Lanka last month. Nathan McAndrew also returns after overcoming back spasms that saw him miss their win over the Vics.
SA have given fellow fast bowler Brendan Doggett the week off ahead of the final after securing hosting rights with a game to spare as they seek to break a 29-year Shield title drought.
Queensland squad: Marnus Labuschagne (c), Jack Clayton, Lachlan Hearne, Angus Lovell, Ben McDermott, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Jackson Sinfield, Mark Steketee, Tom Straker, Mitchell Swepson, Callum Vidler, Jack Wildermuth
Ins: Marnus Labuschagne, Jackson Sinfield, Tom Straker
Outs: Usman Khawaja (unavailable), Xavier Bartlett (IPL)
Bulls captain Marnus Labuschagne returns to lead the side following Australia’s Champions Trophy campaign, but they’ve lost Test opener Usman Khawaja who was unavailable for selection to face South Australia. Khawaja hit a superb 127 and 33 not out in Queensland’s win over Tasmania last round that put the Bulls into second spot with one game to play.
Paceman Xavier Bartlett is also unavailable as he leaves for India on Monday to prepare for his maiden Indian Premier League stint with the Punjab Kings. Australia Under-19 World Cup-winning quick Tom Straker has been recalled, as has off-spinner Jackson Sinfield for the first time since 2023.
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WA squad: Sam Whiteman (c), Cameron Bancroft, Hilton Cartwright, Cooper Connolly, Brody Couch, Keaton Critchell, Joel Curtis, Sam Fanning, Cameron Gannon, Jayden Goodwin, Joel Paris, Corey Rocchiccioli, Charlie Stobo, Ashton Turner
In: Cooper Connolly
Out: Lance Morris (managed)
Western Australia are boosted by the return of rising allrounder Cooper Connolly as they attempt to keep their chances of a Sheffield Shield four-peat alive. Connolly opened the batting in Australia’s Champions Trophy semi-final loss to India where he also took 1-37 after earning a Test debut in Sri Lanka prior to the tournament. He hit 55 in his most recent Shield game in October.
The 21-year-old comes into the 14-player squad in place of speedster Lance Morris who sits out the final round as part of his Cricket Australia workload management plan.
WA need to beat Victoria and hope both Queensland and NSW lose or draw their respective matches with SA and Tasmania to sneak into second spot.
Victoria squad: Will Sutherland (c), Xavier Crone, Harry Dixon, Peter Handscomb, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Campbell Kellaway, Blake Macdonald, David Moody, Todd Murphy, Fergus O’Neill, Oliver Peake, Peter Siddle
Ins: Will Sutherland, David Moody, Peter Siddle
Outs: Scott Boland (managed), Sam Elliott, Mitch Perry
The Vics regain captain Will Sutherland after he sat out last round’s loss to South Australia to manage his workloads, but have lost Test paceman Scott Boland for “injury prevention” reasons after pulling up sore following their last match. Boland’s absence after taking 17 wickets in his past two Shield games is a huge blow for Victoria who need to win big to be any chance of qualifying for the final.
Seamers Sam Elliott and Mitch Perry have been left out for the trip west, with veteran Peter Siddle included for what will potentially be his last Sheffield Shield match if Victoria don’t reach the final, with the former Test quick set to retire from state cricket at the end of the season.
Former WA speedster David Moody also comes into the squad after taking 6-24 in the Second XI against ACT earlier this week. The right-armer played the last of his 38 first-class matches for WA two years ago in the corresponding fixture against Victoria.
Victorian head coach Chris Rogers admitted his side hadn’t performed the way they would have liked in their past four games, losing all four to slip to fifth in the standings.
“We’re determined to get back to a style of cricket we know we’re very good at. We know the equations around the final so it’s just up to us to go to Perth, play smart cricket and put in a solid performance,” he said.
“Campbell Kellaway and Harry Dixon have been two emerging success stories for us this season and we’re looking forward to what they can do against a strong WA line-up.”
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Tasmania squad: Jordan Silk (c), Gabe Bell, Jake Doran, Kieran Elliott, Brad Hope, Caleb Jewell, Matt Kuhnemann, Riley Meredith, Aidan O’Connor, Mitchell Owen, Nivethan Radhakrishnan, Tim Ward, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster
Tasmania have gone with an unchanged squad for their final game of the season, which would also be their first pink ball Shield game at home since 2015.
The Tigers are the only side out of the running to reach the final after losing their previous match to Queensland. They, however, will look to end the season on a high and make it a memorable 100th Shield outing for captain Jordan Silk.
They can still mathematically avoid taking the wooden spoon with an outright win if Victoria lose to WA, given the bonus points for runs and wickets add up in their favour as well.
NSW squad: Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Ollie Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards (c), Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Liam Hatcher, Sam Konstas, Blake Nikitaras, Kurtis Patterson, Josh Philippe, Tanveer Sangha
Ins: Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Tanveer Sangha, Blake Nikitaras
Outs: Ryan Hadley, Hanno Jacobs, Nic Maddinson, Lachlan Shaw
NSW have received a huge boost ahead of their must-win day-night pink ball clash with Tasmania with strike bowlers Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis and leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha back in the fold. The trio have been included in the Blues’ 13-player squad after returning from Australia’s Champions Trophy campaign.
Opener Nic Maddinson has been left out for the trip to Hobart with fellow left-hander Blake Nikitaras recalled as NSW seek to qualify for their first Sheffield Shield final in four years.
Ryan Hadley, Lachlan Shaw and Hanno Jacobs also drop out of the squad that drew with WA at the WACA Ground in the last round.
NSW currently sit third, 1.41 points behind second-placed Queensland, and need to win and hope ladder-leaders South Australia beat the Bulls to ensure a spot in the Shield decider. NSW could also progress if both sides win, provided they obtain 1.42 more first innings bonus points than Queensland.
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
D: Drawn
N/R: No results
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
Bowl: Bowling Bonus
PTS: Total points
All the round 10 Sheffield Shield squads – cricket.com.au
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