Time to retire the Sheffield Shield final

I don’t think the Shield Final is the issue, it is the fact that Cricket Australia only really cares about the Boxing Day Test and the BBL. Everything else just seems to be getting in the way. The One Day Series is stuffed into a one month window at the start of summer, then we play a little bit of Sheffield Shield while we wait for the BBL and then the season is basically over. We need to go back to playing a Shield game and a one dayer over a 5-6 day period for the whole season. That would leave the availability of a Saturday afternoon or Sunday one day final followed by a Wednesday start for the Shield final. The Sheffield Shield final should be played on a rotating basis between Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Hobart, Adelaide & Canberra with heavy fines for venues that produce a venue where the 4th innings hasn’t begun by lunch day 5 (weather permitting).

Here we go again...... did you brush this article off from last year or the year before and just update it? Same old story every year. Not sure why people feel the need to criticise the Shield. I found the final very engaging as was the whole season. And being able to watch the live stream on the CA website is great. Also, didn't Victoria beat SA in the final at Glenelg a couple of years back after finishing second on the table?

The final did turn into a bit of an anticlimax what with the bad weather and a wicket that's as flat as a pancake. The ground itself is absolutely picturesque and it actually feels like the real spiritual home of Queensland Cricket, especially sitting up in the Matthew Hayden Stand looking out across the embankment with the Ray Lindwall Oval and one of the many beautiful rolling Brisbane hills in the background. Comparing this backdrop against that of the infamous multi-coloured plastic Gabba seats, well, there's just no contest. Nevertheless, if they want to stage Shield matches at the ABF on a regular basis, they'll have to upgrade the outfield as the drainage is pretty shocking being situated as it is on an old rubbish tip next to Breakfast Creek which floods frequently. Wish there was some way we could combine the ABF scenery with the Gabba wicket. On the greater question of the continued existence of the Shield final, I don't see any real reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater. The players enjoy getting the chance to play a 5-day match by all accounts and it's the closest thing they can get to a test match. Agree that change of some kind is necessary, possibly the winner should be awarded based on first-innings lead or maybe as Scott suggested, it should be a timeless match but I don't see the need to abolish it just because it's hard for the away team to win

BAD idea. Your argument in a nutshell is "Domestic scene doesn't get enough attention, so lets get rid of the most important domestic game in the calendar" I'm damn lucky it did rain a lot during the Shield final, because otherwise I would not have got a lot done in those 5 days. Being able to watch it live on the stream is amazing cool. The REAL issue is the length of the Behemoth Bash

The historically, the final is important to Queensland in particular because the competition was played during the Queensland wet season which lead to more draws at Queensland home games. As a result, even dominant Queensland teams would fail to be the outright leader at the end of the season. Being able to win from second place has made a big difference. It also keeps the competition relevant for all the other teams where one team is clearly dominant from early in the season.

Bill I really don't think you understand the importance of the Sheffield Shield when you write about it "retaining some relevance in the run up to the first Test, but once the Tests start, it moves back into a second class system". Talk with guys who have gone from grade cricket, to Shield and on to Tests and they'll tell you the gulf is enormous, in all areas of the game, when moving from one level to another. The issue isn't about "a second class system" and Shield games don't suddenly become irrelevant simply because 12 guys are off playing Tests. It's about ludicrous scheduling which is yet another thing CA has not got right. If your only issue (apart from "it's hard to win if your not the home side" ), is when it's actually played, it shouldn't be terribly hard to move the game to a fixed date in late February and make a big deal about it, the same as the AFL does with "the last Saturday in September". I can guarantee the players involved want to play and it's still completely relevant to them.

The Shield final is the closest thing to a Test match in the domestic game. It almost (not quite) mirrors the last match of a Test series where the home team has 1-0 advantage. Despite often becoming a draw, it is the highest stakes game at domestic level. People don't watch the Shield, but it still the prestigious domestic competition. There may may be an issue with holding it so late, in that it crosses with the ever-expanding football seasons but that is the NRL and AFL moving into ties not traditionally theirs than anything cricket related. The BBL is a problem child, from a cricketing point of view. It plays havoc with schedules at both domestic and international level. It can't be moved, shortened, or abolished; from a commercial standpoint; and more's the pity. That said, moving the ListA games to a Saturday and Shield games starting on the Sunday may have some merit and allow the final to be played a little earlier if really necessary. The Shield, including the final, is an investment in players for the only important version of the game - not a revenue raiser in its own right.

Well said. The other thing the Shield Final does is impart skills on players that you need to be successful at Test level. The ability to grind out a draw across 5 days when a loss means the Test series is all over is an underrated skill. Of course, you'd rather win that match and you'd go into it with that aim (as every Shield team does in the Final), but sometimes a draw just to halt the other team's momentum, get yourself back into the series etc can be hugely important over the course of a Test series. In 2009, that's all Australia had to do at the Oval to retain the Ashes 1-1. And they couldn't do it. For the second placed team, the ability to conjure a win when all seems against you, in unfriendly conditions, when the other team just needs to draw... the 2005 match at the Oval saw Australia unable to do this to retain the Ashes, Eng forced a draw and the series was theirs. Even if most of the players who take part in Shield Finals never go onto represent Australia, or find themselves in situations like those above where they need to grind out a draw/force an unlikely victory, it is still a good mindset for Australian cricketers to learn.

Yeah I was thinking that myself. Put it this way: if 4/35 away teams have won the Shield in a final, that means that a team basically has a better than 1/10 chance of being crowned champions despite coming second across the whole season. It's not the worst reward for second place. And it's a good reward for finishing on top of the ladder, considering that's all it used to take to win the comp.

Couldn't agree less. The Sheffield Shield is supposed to prepare players for the step up to test match cricket - that's its primary purpose. And the shield final is the only 5-day match played by state teams. It must remain in the calendar. The team that finishes top deserves an advantage. Playing at home is a good one, and I'd leave it at that. I would support moves to have a sixth day as a reserve day, in case of time lost to weather / bad light. Further, CA needs to stop the BBL's insidious hijacking of the Australian summer, move it or shorten its length, and make sure that the shield season continues in company with the home test series, so that players can put pressure on the test incumbents. Isn't it kind of ridiculous that our domestic 4-day competition stops completely for about 7 weeks now, mid-season, for a white ball tournament? And to think that there are moves to extend the BBL even more! It's ridiculous to schedule a season so that the only way domestic cricketers can press their claims for higher honours is by playing T20 matches. meanwhile, performances in those T20 matches are exaggerated by having them play on roads against teams stacked with retired has-beens or journeyman overseas imports. No wonder the test team has a few passengers and often looks in a home summer like an absolute sinecure. Shall we shorten the Ashes series, because those tests are boring these days, with the respective home teams dominating since the mid-2000s? Winning away is supposed to be hard. The shield must be restored to being the pre-eminent domestic competition, and its final must be preserved, as the closest thing to test match conditions available. If you can't find entertainment in longer-form domestic cricket, then I'd suggest you're not really trying. I know this will never happen, because money rules everything, as CA is about to find out to its detriment as the sponsors disappear thanks to our cheats.

The problem is time. Because there is a two month break in the Shield, a mid March finish is all we can expect. As well, a timeless match won't be accepted because the grounds are at this stage, used for football of various codes. It is only in recent years we had a final. Previously it was the team finishing on top at regular season's end won the shield.

Start with SCDCA 2nd grade and then work upwards.

I don't think a final that's hard to win for the away side is so bad. The visitors *should* have to pull off something special to overturn an entire season of superiority from the home team.

The players are also very keen to get the game back to the best Stadiums so a timeless game won't fit in with that, but I get your point. Players schedules are also tight with the IPL usually just around the corner. If you are going to have a final they should try and have it earlier, play four rounds after the BBL instead of five. Try and keep the Shield open for Aus players to participate. There was a few thousand people there on both weekend days so given there was no publicity for the game it shows people still do follow it.

Still have the possibility of a draw though due to rain or whatever else. If you make it timeless and have to declare a winner, then both teams are going to play that way, rather than the home side coming out and just trying to play for the draw. For example, this year's match could have gone into a sixth or even seventh day (given the nature of weather) and we would have probably got a fair result at that point... Furthermore, it wouldn't have been an absolute road.

One of the best sporting experiences of my life as a spectator is the 94/95 final. It was huge, seasons leading up to that were big as well. The Shield was a big deal, at least in QLD. It would be a real shame to loose the final. I am actually more concerned that we will loose State cricket all together and end up with Aus A, Aus B, Aus C and then grage for those they think have no future. That is a real possibility now, even if still small.

Or let the away team prepare the wicket.

I'd go the other way. Let's make it a timeless match, where a team must win. Then we get a fair cricket wicket and a match which would be over in five days... Let's be honest, no team is going to prepare a road for a timeless match. That, for mine, is the best way to decide it.

Sadly Bill, I agree. I used to think a neutral venue like Manuka Oval might jazz it up a bit. Canberra/ACT have no Sheffield Shield team so playing the final there regularly would ensure decent crowds from a population that comes from all over Australia, especially the in federal govt. However, the minor premiers still have the whip hand in that thy only need to draw to secure the SS. So in effect, only one team is trying to win. So yeah, nice idea the final, but since the minor premiers are under no obligation to make a contest of the final, it's deeply flawed & time to put the idea to rest.

I used to be very against the removal of the Shield final but i have come around now. There is nothing wrong with the best team taking the Shield after 10 home & away rounds. We already have 2 domestic finals in formats that suit finals better. Its a packed domestic summer as it is but i'd hope removing the Shield final may mean that you could have a couple more domestic one-dayers so that when players are getting picked for the Aussie team they have played more 7 in the last 12 months (usually with 11 months in between). I know BBL is expanding but I hope there will be more double-headers (i.e. 2 games on one day in diff parts of country, not same teams playing again) to tighten up the schedule a bit.