Perennial domestic powerhouses Victoria will attempt to win their third consecutive Sheffield Shield when they take on South Australia in the final starting Sunday, the 25th of March from Alice Springs. It will be a repeat of last year's final, which saw Victoria claim victory by 7 wickets to win their 30th title.
It’ll be a fairly new look side for the Victorians going into this one however, with key players Marcus Stoinis, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade all missing from last year's Premiership side. Marcus Harris, Aaron Finch and Seb Gotch will replace the trio while James Pattinson looks set to play in his first final since the 2014-15 edition.
Fawad Ahmed has been recalled to the side for the final after only playing one Shield match all year, and with the call up of second spinner Tom Andrews to join Adam Zampa for South Australia, all indications are that it will be a turning wicket in the Northern Territory.
SA skipper Travis Head will be full of confidence going into the match after a brilliant 193 run win over Tasmania in the final round to send them through to the final. Young quick Joe Mennie was outstanding in the win, claiming man of the match honours with 9 wickets. The bowling line-up for the South Australians has been their strength all year, with the likes of Mennie, Kane Richardson, Chadd Sayers, Danial Worrall and Zampa all being called upon throughout the season. It will be a tough job for selectors to narrow that list down to four.
Batting has been a bit of a concern for the Redbacks, with Tom Cooper and Jake Lehman shouldering a heavy portion of the load. The likes of Travis Head and Callum Ferguson will need to capture some of the form that has them in contention for national selection if the Redbacks are to win this game.
TIP: Jake Lehman most SA Runs 1st Innings - $7 at Sportsbet
You’d think without the trio currently playing in India that the Victorian batting lineup would be decimated, however, the inclusion of Aaron Finch has been a massive win for the Victorians. With just 6 Shield games under his belt this year, the power hitter is averaging 51 with the bat.
Victoria’s bowling stocks will also be whittled down to four from their original 12 man squad. All of Pattinson, Chris Tremain, Scott Boland, Jon Holland and Fawad Ahmed in contention with Tremain likely being the unlucky candidate if Victoria choose to form a duo spin attack with Ahmed and Holland. Dan Christian can also chip in crucial medium pace overs so I think two spinners will be preferred for the Bushrangers.
It’s a hard one to pick on an Alice Springs wicket that we have seen very little of. By all reports it’s going to be relatively spin friendly, which I think should suit the Vics a little more with the likes of Aaron Finch and Cam White being great batsmen against spin.
There’s not much meat left on the bone for the Bushrangers, with bookmakers opening the market with them as heavy $1.30 favourites to lift the trophy. Given that they only need a draw to be crowned champions, they could go into their shell a bit here.
I don’t think there is that much of a difference between the two sides, especially with the absence of particularly Marcus Stoinis, who was present for both of the teams meetings this year.
In a match that could really go either way I’m happy to take the value here and hope that the South Australians can win the toss and set a big total.
TIP: South Australia to win - $4.40 at Sportsbet
