The result of Tasmania and Victoria's top of the table clash later this week could have a huge say on who will reach this summer’s final
Sheffield Shield run home: Tight race to reach decider
With two rounds remaining, final positions in the 2023-24 Marsh Sheffield Shield are far from settled.
The top two sides will contest the final on March 21-24, with Western Australia the current back-to-back reigning champions.
Six points are on offer for an outright win and, with a potentially unlimited amount of bonus points available, the race is wide open (details on bonus points can be found at the bottom of this article).
| Team | M | W | L | D | N/R | Ded. | Bat | Bowl | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
WA
|
10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5.53 | 9.4 | 47.93 |
|
2
TAS
|
10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6.06 | 8.3 | 47.36 |
|
3
NSW
|
10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6.31 | 9 | 42.31 |
|
4
VIC
|
10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4.74 | 8.2 | 38.94 |
|
5
SA
|
10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.19 | 9.3 | 33.49 |
|
6
QLD
|
10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.54 | 8.3 | 25.84 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
D: Drawn
N/R: No results
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
Bowl: Bowling Bonus
PTS: Total points
1. Tasmania (38.96 points)
Played 8 | Won 4 | Lost 1 | Drawn 3 | Bat points 5.66 | Bowl points: 6.3
Remaining matches
March 1-4 v Victoria, Blundstone Arena - stream for free here
March 11-14 v South Australia, Blundstone Arena
The equation
Tasmania are in the box seat to qualify for the final with two matches at home to finish the season.
If they finish on top of the table, they'll host the final at Bellerive Oval in Hobart, but the main goal for the Tigers will be to first qualify for their first Shield decider since the 2017-18 season.
To do that, they need to win one of their remaining matches.
But if they can't manage to win either match, it leaves the door wide open for the other states to displace them.
2. Victoria (36.94 points)
Played 8 | Won 4 | Lost 2 | Drawn 2 | Bat points 4.74 | Bowl points: 6.2
Remaining matches
March 1-4 v Tasmania, Blundstone Arena - stream for free here
March 11-14 v Western Australia, Junction Oval
The equation
Will Victoria be left to rue Sydney's bad weather that cost them an innings victory against NSW in their last outing?
Regardless, they still have a great opportunity to make the decider but do have two tough matches to finish, against first-placed Tasmania and third-placed Western Australia, likely needing to win at least one of those to go through.
A loss to Tassie this week doesn't end their finals hopes, however they would have to defeat WA to remain a chance and hope NSW don't get maximum points from their two matches.
3. Western Australia (32.49 points)
Played 8 | Won 3 | Lost 2 | Drawn 3 | Bat points 4.09 | Bowl points: 7.4
Remaining matches
March 1-4 v Queensland, WACA - stream for free here
March 11-14 v Victoria, Junction Oval
The equation
Western Australia have their destiny in their own hands; if they win their last two fixtures they'll go into the Shield final.
That's because their final clash is an away match against Victoria, who are currently 4.55 points ahead of them. But with six points available for a win (before bonus points), even if the Vics win their other match it won't be enough to stop WA leapfrogging them.
WA could also jump up if they win only one of their remaining matches, but that would rely on one of Tasmania or Victoria losing both their remaining matches.
4. New South Wales (30.82 points)
Played 8 | Won 3 | Lost 3 | Drawn 2 | Bat points 3.82 | Bowl points: 7
Remaining matches
March 1-4 v South Australia, Cricket Central - stream for free here
March 11-14 v Queensland, Allan Border Field
The equation
NSW's best hopes of making the decider is to see a drawn match between Western Australia and Victoria. That would theoretically allow the Blues to progress with as little as one more win, plus bonus points.
Of course, winning both matches would be the preferred method for NSW, which would also open up the possibility of progressing if Victoria lose both their matches and WA win only one.
5. Queensland (23.94 points)
Played 8 | Won 2 | Lost 4 | Drawn 2 | Bat points 3.54 | Bowl points: 6.4
Remaining matches
March 1-4 v Western Australia, WACA - stream for free here
March 11-14 v New South Wales, Allan Border Field
The equation
It's a tough path for Queensland to reach the Shield final, which would require them to win both their matches outright – by big margins – and hope for draws in all other matches.
If that happens, along with what would be a decent booty of bonus points, the Bulls are still a chance to slide into second place.
Anything else will spell the end of their season.
6. South Australia (23.61 points)
Played 8 | Won 2 | Lost 6 | Drawn 0 | Bat points 3.61 | Bowl points: 7.8
Remaining matches
March 1-4 v New South Wales, Cricket Central - stream for free here
March 11-14 v Tasmania, Blundstone Arena
The equation
Interestingly, South Australia have recorded the most bowling bonus points (7.8) out of any side in the Sheffield Shield, despite finding themselves dead last.
But, like Queensland above them, the Redbacks really need everything to go right if they are to make the season's decider.
They need comfortable victories in both their matches and hope all the other games are drawn or washed out.
The points system:
Teams get six points for an outright win, one point for a draw and no points for a loss.
Regardless of the result of the match, both sides then earn bonus points.
They'll earn 0.01 of a bonus point for every run over 200 they score during the first 100 overs of their first innings (for example: 350 runs after 100 overs gets you 1.5 bonus points) and 0.1 of a bonus point for every wicket they take during the first 100 overs of their opponent's first innings (for example: 10 wickets in the first 100 overs equals 1 bonus point).