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With the cricket season already upon us, it is time for a preview of the 2017-18 Sheffield Shield season.
There has been some interesting movement in the interstate cricket market, and I will look at each team’s big gains and loses.
At the end I will give some fearless predictions for when the season is all done and dusted.
Dates
The season kicks off on October 26th with Queensland hosting reigning premiers Victoria. The season will be split into two blocks of five rounds, to accommodate the Big Bash. The first half will finish on the sixth of December, with the second resuming on February eighth.
There will be three full rounds of Shield cricket before the Ashes kick off on November 23rd, giving prospective internationals the opportunity to gain some form, or push for selection.
Victoria
Starting with last year’s winners, we see a significant number of key players moving on.
Mathew Wade, the current Australian Test ‘keeper and captain of Victoria, is leaving the Bushrangers in order to return to his home state of Tasmania.
Marcus Stoinis is likewise heading home, but in his case for WA.
Besides these interstate moves, we see retirements from two two-test wonders, leg-spinner Michael Beer and, the owner of the best made nine in Test cricket, Rob Quiney.
All in all, Victoria have lost six members of the squad which took out last year’s final, leaving the side with a certain lack of experience.
The new captain will be Test No.5 Peter Handscomb, and Sam Harper will be promoted to full time ‘keeper.
With the loss of key members, and at least their captain likely to miss more than half the season through Test duties, it is hard to see the Bushrangers backing up this year and making it four in a row.
South Australia
Last year’s runners-up South Australia have kept a fairly consistent team for the 2017/18 season. New additions to the squad include opening batsman John Dalton, back-up ‘keeper Harry Nielsen, and fast-bowler Nick Winter.
Due to young gun Alex Carey taking the role of full-time wicketkeeper, a notable omission for SA is long time ‘keeper Tim Ludeman. Ludeman has moved back to his home state of Victoria to play for Geelong.
With a solid team, and few losses to international duties, I expect good things from the Redbacks this year.
Western Australia
The biggest signing this year for the Warriors is Marcus Stoinis, having been lured home to WA after four seasons with Victoria. He will likely take the place of retired captain Adam Voges in a reshuffle of WA’s middle order.
(AP Photo/Tim Ireland)
A new captain has not been named, but former captain Shaun Marsh seems the most likely contender.
Besides Voges, another notable loss is fast bowler Nathan Rimmington, who has moved to Queensland after six years with the Warriors.
With the addition of Stoinis to an already strong side, the Warriors look primed for a big season. With prospective internationals the Marsh brothers, Ashton Agar and Hilton Cartwright unlikely to be missing too much of the season, I expect to WA to be competitive come the final rounds.
New South Wales
The only additions to a usually formidable NSW team are the exciting young fast-bowlers Charlie Stobo and Henry Thornton. This duo joins a Blues side which contains a competition-high six Australian contracted players, including both the Australian captain and vice-captain.
The Blues will be disappointed with finishing fourth last season, and will look to improve. It is hard to discount NSW, who as ever have a strong and deep roster. However, they are likely to see a hangover from their missing international stars and I think they will once again fall just short this season.
Queensland
Perhaps the biggest loss this season for Queensland is their veteran wicketkeeper Chris Hartley, who has retired. Replacing him is young ‘keeper Lachlan Pfeffer, a member of Queensland’s winning Futures League team last year.
Other signings include batsman Sam Truloff, and fast-bowler Brendan Doggett, a member of last year’s CA XI in the domestic One Day competition.
Besides Hartley, a notable absence is former Australian T20 player Nathan Reardon, who has not been offered a new contract. A surprise omission is gun batsman Chris Lynn, who has been overlooked while recovering from shoulder surgery. However, the Bulls claim that he may well be picked up later in the season after his recovery.
Queensland have made a couple of good signing this year, but their squad is in a rebuilding stage. I expect them to struggle against the more established sides.
Tasmania
Coming in at the bottom of last year’s competition, the Tigers have made some positive inroads into the future with some proactive recruiting. Along with Mathew Wade, fast-bowlers Nick Buchanan and Tom Rogers have been signed, as well as batsman Charlie Wakim.
(AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal)
Joining these players is new coach, and former Tasmanian fast-bowler, Adam Griffith.
An interesting situation has arisen with Tim Paine also retaining his contract. This means that the position of wicketkeeper will essentially be up for grabs between him and newcomer Wade.
However, as Wade is likely to miss much of the summer due to international duties, I expect Paine to keep the gloves, and Wade to play as a batsman only. This will leave Australia in the unusual position of their national ‘keeper not being the first choice for his state.
George Bailey will retain the captaincy, and look to guide the Tigers off the bottom of the ladder.
Predictions
Most runs: Jake Lehmann. After a couple of solid seasons, the son of ‘Boof’ will take his game up another notch this season.
Most wickets: Jason Behrendorff. After coming so close in 2013-14 season, “The Dorff” will finally fulfil his potential and take out the top gong with 50+ wickets for the season.
Best wicketkeeper: Alex Carey. The Redback’s athletic new ‘keeper will continue his ascent and be the standout wicky for the year.
Surprise player: Joe Burns. After somehow being forgotten by all and sundry, the former Test opener will remind the fans and selectors alike what a quality player he is.
Surprise team: Tasmania. With some good new signings and a new coach, expect Tasmania to put in a much better show this season.
Last Place: Queensland. With some notable losses, and likely to lose their two best players to the international summer, it’s hard to predict Queensland will be anything but bottom of the table come Round 10.
First Place: South Australia. With a solid team and few losses to international duty, South Australia will win a close-fought final against runners-up, Western Australia.
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