Victorian seamer Mitch Perry looks set to be miss selection for this week’s Sheffield Shield final against reigning champions South Australia in Melbourne.
The 25-year-old, who claimed 32 wickets at 21.75 this season, including a pair of five-wicket hauls, narrowly missed out on Sheffield Shield Player of the Year honours after securing 14 votes, one less than recipient Liam Scott from South Australia.
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However, in a brutal selection call, CODE Sports reports that Victoria will omit Perry from the starting XI in favour of fellow quick Sam Elliott, who joins a bowling attack that features Scott Boland, Fergus O’Neill, Will Sutherland and Todd Murphy.
Victoria’s side is also expected to include former Test players Peter Handscomb and Marcus Harris, while the South Australians will have Test wicketkeeper Alex Carey at their disposal.
“We’ve been building nicely and I think we’re coming up against the best team of the season at the right time of the season for us and we’re going to give them a good challenge,” South Australian coach Ryan Harris said.
The five-day Sheffield Shield final commences at Melbourne’s Junction Oval on Thursday at 10.30am AEDT.
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ECB keeps leaders in charge | 05:41
SESSION TIMES
Thursday, March 26 to Monday, March 30
First session: 10.30am – 12.30am
Second session: 1.10pm – 3.10pm
Third session: 3.30pm – 5.30pm
HOW TO WATCH
Every ball of the Sheffield Shield final will be shown live and ad-break free on Foxtel and streaming platform Kayo Sports.
SQUADS
Victoria
To be confirmed
Will Sutherland (c), Sam Harper, Campbell Kellaway, Dylan Brasher, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Oliver Peake, Fergus O’Neill, Sam Elliott, Todd Murphy, Scott Boland, Mitch Perry
South Australia
Nathan McSweeney (c), Wes Agar, Jordan Buckingham, Alex Carey, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mackenzie Harvey, Henry Hunt, Jake Lehmann, Ben Manenti, Nathan McAndrew, Lloyd Pope, Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Henry Thornton
MELBOURNE WEATHER
via the Bureau of Meteorology
Thursday
Cloudy. Very high chance of showers, most likely in the afternoon and evening. Winds southwesterly 25 to 35 km/h.
Friday
Cloudy. Very high chance of showers, most likely in the morning. Winds southwesterly 30 to 35 km/h tending southerly 25 to 40 km/h during the morning.
Saturday
Cloudy. High chance of showers, most likely in the morning and afternoon. Winds southerly 20 to 30 km/h.
Sunday
Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower during the morning. Winds southeast to southwesterly 15 to 20 km/h.
Monday
Partly cloudy. Light winds becoming southerly 15 to 20 km/h later.
ECB keeps leaders in charge | 05:41
WHAT IF THE FINAL IS A DRAW?
If the Sheffield Shield final ends as a draw, the champion will be decided on a first-innings bonus points system.
During the first 100 overs of each team’s first innings, the batting side earns 0.01 of a point for every run scored over 200, while the fielding team receives 0.1 of a point for every wicket taken.
For example, if the score reads 9-285 after 100 overs, the batting team will receive 0.85 points and the fielding team will receive 0.9 points.
PREVIOUS WINNERS
2018/19 – Victoria
2019/20 – New South Wales (final cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic)
2020/21 – Queensland
2021/22 – Western Australia
2022/23 – Western Australia
2023/24 – Western Australia
2024/25 – South Australia