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The Shield gets back underway today, with significant games again taking place across the four days.
After big results last week including Queensland chasing down 471 and Victoria losing by an innings and 48 runs, both sides have considerable changes coming in and out of their line-ups.
Tasmania versus Queensland
The Bulls will fly south to play fifth-placed Tasmania at Blundestone Arena.
After the miracle on grass last week, the Bulls will be without their gun number three, Usman Khawaja, who has had problems pulling up for this week’s game and has been omitted from the line-up.
Khawaja was clearly the man of the match in the last game against the Redbacks, but James Hopes, Chris Hartley and Joe Burns were all other notable performers.
For the Tigers, their season is all but over, however they can hurt the Bulls’ finals aspirations with a big win here in Tasmania.
The Tigers lost a hard-fought battle against the Warriors last week due to a classy second innings run chase built around Marcus North.
In short, a huge game for the Bulls, who need to step up without the services of Khawaja.
South Australia versus Victoria
Victoria had the game from hell last week in Sydney. They start again in Adelaide and have they dropped the axe or what!
Rob Quiney, Michael Hill, Jon Holland, Fawad Ahmed and debutant Jake Reed have all been named in the Bushrangers squad. Sitting currently in last position, the Bushrangers can only play for pride now in their final three remaining Shield matches.
Their season was probably summed up last week in the deplorable loss to the Blues. Glenn Maxwell was the only highlight for them in the game, his consistent form with the bat in the longer form of the game now a sign of his maturity and is exciting for cricket followers.
The Redbacks will be out to regain top spot on the ladder, after they are now second on net run rate.
At home they will be hard to beat, however the Redbacks have choked before.
Any points in this game for them should almost cement them a finals spot.
Western Australia versus NSW
The last match of the day and arguably the most thrilling will be when the now-top of the table Blues are the visitors up against the confident Warriors.
Building on from his Big Bash success, Marcus North remains dominant for the Warriors, while for NSW it was a strong bowling performance in both innings last week that set up a big victory.
This is a huge game for the Warriors and a win here could bring them up into the top two, depending on the result down at Adelaide Oval. The Blues can become outright top with a win at the WACA and this promises to be a hardly contested match between two competitive sides.
Ashton Agar will make his return to the Shield side this week after missing cricket through injury. Agar, who was so famous for his innings in the first Test in England, will look to play a pivotal role come day four and five in the Test match.
In recap, the Bulls and Warriors will be desperate for wins to keep their faint chances alive, while wins for Redbacks and Blues would all but cement the two teams’ chances of playing each other in the final.
For Victoria and Tasmania there isn’t much on offer, but the inclusion of Jake Reed for Victoria is pleasing to see, as the Bushrangers continue to show to the Shield their young talent.
Most on the line this week has to be for the Warriors – they can give themselves a real shot at the final with a win against the top team in their fixture at the WACA.
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