Western Australia host Tasmania as the 2023-24 Sheffield Shield's top two battle for Australian domestic cricket's ultimate prize
All you need to know for the Sheffield Shield final
Match facts
Who: Western Australia v Tasmania
What: 2023-24 Marsh Sheffield Shield Final
Where: WACA Ground, Perth
When: Thursday March 21-Monday March 25
Session times: Morning: 10am-12pm local (1pm-3pm AEDT) | Afternoon: 12.40pm-2.40pm local (3.40pm-5.40pm AEDT) | Evening: 3pm-5pm local (6pm-8pm AEDT)
How to watch: Every ball of the Sheffield Shield final is live and free on cricket.com.au, the CA Live app and Kayo Sports. The final will also be broadcast live on Fox Cricket. For listeners, ABC radio will cover the match
Tickets: On sale here. Adults $15, concession $10, $5 for children aged 15 and under
Live scores: Match Centre
Highlights, news and reactions after the match: cricket.com.au and the CA Live app
Officials: Sam Nogajski (field), Shawn Craig (field), Gerard Abood (third), Bob Parry (match referee), Lance Catchpole (scorer), Sandy Wheeler (scorer)
Match squads
Western Australia: Sam Whiteman (c), Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Gannon, Jayden Goodwin, Aaron Hardie, Liam Haskett, Josh Inglis, Joel Paris, Corey Rocchiccioli, D'Arcy Short, Charlie Stobo, Teague Wyllie. Ins: Cooper Connolly, Teague Wyllie. Outs: Cameron Bancroft (concussion), Keaton Critchell (omitted)
Tasmania: Jordan Silk (c), Gabe Bell, Iain Carlisle, Jake Doran, Kieran Elliott, Jarrod Freeman, Bradley Hope, Caleb Jewell, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Matthew Wade, Charlie Wakim, Beau Webster. Ins: Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen. Outs: Sam Rainbird (retired)
Form guide
Western Australia: WWDLDWLWDW (most recent first)
Western Australia were sitting third ahead of the final round of the Shield season, but jumped up to claim hosting rights with the combination of a big win against Victoria and Tasmania getting beaten at home by South Australia.
They have won three of their four games since the BBL break; the other a draw against Tasmania where both sides were able to put together big second-innings totals after early going proved tough for batters.
Cameron Bancroft, who will unfortunately miss the match with concussion, and Sam Whiteman have been prolific at the top of the order, setting a new WA record as openers, and the pair are both in the top five run-scorers for this season, while Josh Inglis has been great since returning to the fold following his international commitments.
With the ball they are the only state to have five wicket-takers with more than 20 scalps this season, led by Corey Rocchiccioli's 39 wickets at 29.92, narrowly ahead of Joel Paris' 37 wickets at 14.08. WA scored the most bowling bonus points of any side this season, with Charlie Stobo, Cameron Gannon and the emerging star Liam Haskett all taking at least 20 poles.
Tasmania: LWDWLWDWDW
Tasmania had hosting rights for the Shield final within their grasp but let that opportunity slip by losing their round 10 match at home to South Australia. It was a hefty loss, too, bowled out for less than 200 twice, and just their second defeat for the season.
Their only other defeat this season came in the final match before the Big Bash break, when they went down to NSW in Sydney.
This match will mark Matthew Wade's swansong from first-class cricket, and he will open the batting, while player of the season Beau Webster has been the lynchpin for Tasmania with bat and ball. He's had an incredible summer with a season-leading 914 runs at 65.28 while also taking 26 wickets at 28.46.
Gabe Bell has led the Tasmanian attack with 39 wickets in eight games at 18.69 while Riley Meredith is expected to return having been managed through the final round.
Injury issues and absences
Western Australia suffered a huge blow two days out from the decider with confirmation star opener Cameron Bancroft will miss the final with concussion after falling from his bike and hitting his head. Two-time Shield winner Teague Wyllie and spin-bowling allrounder Cooper Connolly are in line to replace Bancroft having been added to WA's 14-player squad. 20-year-old Connolly would make his first-class debut if selected.
In better news, WA allrounder Aaron Hardie is expected to bowl in the final after returning from a calf injury last week against Victoria as a specialist batter. It's a huge plus for the two-time reigning champions, giving them the flexibility to balance their side after seamer Charlie Stobo has batted at No.7 for their past two matches. It means Stobo or rising star Liam Haskett could be in line to miss the final if WA opt to go with an extra batter in either D'Arcy Short or Wyllie.
Australian allrounders Mitch Marsh and Cameron Green won't be available for the final due to their Indian Premier League commitments, with Green's Royal Challengers Bangalore playing their opening match of the 2024 season on day two of the final, while Marsh's Delhi Capitals play the following afternoon. Ashton Turner and Marcus Stoinis (both Lucknow Super Giants) and Jhye Richardson (Delhi Capitals) will also be unavailable due to the IPL, but all three haven't played for WA since last year with Turner (knee) and Richardson (side) injured during KFC BBL|13 and Stoinis missing the T20 tour of New Zealand due to a back injury.
Lance Morris, meanwhile, remains sidelined with a side strain he sustained during the third ODI against the West Indies last month. Morris is in the early stage of his return to bowling and is targeting a mid-year T20 franchise opportunity to push his case for the T20 World Cup.
For Tasmania, Matthew Wade (Gujarat Titans) has delayed his departure to the IPL to play in the Shield final in what will be his final red-ball match after announcing his retirement from first-class cricket last Friday. It means Australia's T20 gloveman – who won four Shield titles during a decade with Victoria but none with his native Tasmania – will miss the Titans' opening match of the season against Mumbai Indians on March 24.
Nathan Ellis, who hasn't played a Shield match this season, is another unavailable due to IPL commitments with Punjab Kings, while Billy Stanlake will miss the final due to a back injury. Lawrence Neil-Smith was also ruled out of the second half of the season with a stress fracture in his shin, but Mitch Owen could be in line to return for the final after missing the past two games with a side strain.
Possible XIs
Western Australia: Teague Wyllie, Sam Whiteman (c), Jayden Goodwin, Hilton Cartwright, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis (wk), D'Arcy Short, Joel Paris, Cameron Gannon, Corey Rocchiccioli, Liam Haskett
Tasmania: Caleb Jewell, Matthew Wade, Charlie Wakim, Jordan Silk (c), Jake Doran (wk), Beau Webster, Bradley Hope, Jarrod Freeman, Gabe Bell, Iain Carlisle, Riley Meredith
Head-to-head
Overall: WA (40 wins), Tasmania (21 wins), drawn (29)
At the WACA Ground (past 10 years): WA (5 wins), Tasmania (3 wins), drawn (2)
This season:
Round 2 (WACA Ground): Tasmania 439 (Silk 181, Rocchiccioli 4-144) & 5-129 drew with WA 8(dec)-574 (Whiteman 188, Bell 3-80)
Round 8 (Blundstone Arena): Tasmania 183 (Paris 4-48) & 8(dec)-537 (Jewell 227, Webster 100) drew with WA 271 (Goodwin 85, Webster 3-30) & 2-242 (Bancroft 100no, Green 103no)
In Sheffield Shield finals:
1997-98 (WACA Ground): Tasmania 285 (Cox 115no, Julian 4-89) & 348 (Di Venuto 189, Atkinson 5-92) lost by seven wickets to WA 571 (Campbell 104, Moody 125, Julian 124, Targett 4-143) & 3-63
Most runs (since 2015-16): Sam Whiteman (1253), Cameron Bancroft (1012), Jordan Silk (913), Beau Webster (910), Matthew Wade (808)
Most wickets (since 2015-16): Jackson Bird (49), Joel Paris (43), Gabe Bell (27), Sam Rainbird (25), Matthew Kelly (24), Cameron Green (24)
The venue
What happens if it's a draw?
If the match ends in a draw after five days – as it did in 2021-22 when WA were declared champions over Victoria – then the title will go to the state who secures the most bonus points after the first innings.
Bonus points are awarded only in the first 100 overs of each team's first innings. The batting side earns 0.01 of a bonus point for every run over 200 in that first 100 overs (for example: 350 runs after 100 overs gets you 1.5 bonus points). The bowling side earns 0.1 of a bonus point for every wicket they take (for example: 10 wickets in the first 100 overs equals 1 bonus point).
If the match is drawn and the bonus points are tied, then Western Australia will be declared the winners of the 2023-24 Sheffield Shield by virtue of finishing on top of the standings.
Hype me with some history
WA have won the past two Sheffield Shield titles and are chasing their second three-peat (1986-87 to 1988-89) in the state's history. They've been the dominant side over the past three seasons, winning 14 of 27 matches and breaking a 23-year title drought by taking out the 2021-22 Shield in the drawn decider with Victoria. It's the third consecutive season WA have hosted the decider and victory would give the state their 18th Sheffield Shield title.
Tasmania have won the Shield three times (2006-07, 2010-11, 2012-13) since entering the competition in 1977-78. Captain Jordan Silk is the only remaining member of the XI crowned champions in 2012-13 with a drawn final against Queensland, hitting 108 in the first innings in a Tigers line-up featuring former Australia captains Ricky Ponting, George Bailey and Tim Paine.
Silk is one of four Tigers with previous Shield final experience alongside Beau Webster, Jake Doran and Matthew Wade who all played in Tasmania's last appearance in the decider in 2017-19 when they went down to the Bulls by nine wickets. Silk hit scores of 76 and 74 in that match while Wade made a century in the first innings and Webster collected 3-83.
NSW have won the most Sheffield Shield titles with 47, followed by Victoria with 32, WA (17), South Australia (13), Queensland (9) and Tasmania (3).
Rapid stats
- Western Australia are unbeaten in their past four Sheffield Shield games against Tasmania (won two, drawn two) but have won only one of their past five meetings at the WACA Ground.
- Western Australia have won each of their past two Sheffield Shield games, each by a margin of 100-plus runs, and will be looking to a third-straight win in the competition for the first time since November 2022. WA have lost only two of their past 14 games at the WACA Ground (won 10, drawn two).
- Tasmania have lost only two of their past nine Sheffield Shield games outside Tasmania (won four, drawn three). But one of those two defeats came against Western Australia at the WACA Ground (March 2023).
- Western Australia will be looking to win a third consecutive Sheffield Shield final for the first time since 1986-87 to 1988-89 while Tasmania will be searching for their first competition triumph since 2012-13.
- Western Australia have scored 20.2 per cent of their total runs straight down the ground this Sheffield Shield campaign, the highest rate of any team in the competition, with Cameron Bancroft (234) and Sam Whiteman (219) two of just six players to score 200-plus runs from drive shots this campaign.
- Tasmania have the highest team batting average (35.4) and strike rate (58.4) in their second innings of matches of any team in the 2023-24 Sheffield Shield campaign while Western Australia (58.3) have the worst bowling strike rate of any team in their second bowling innings.
- Gabe Bell (Tasmania) has taken a team-high 39 wickets this Sheffield Shield season and has taken multiple wickets in five of his past six innings against Western Australia. Only Jackson Bird has taken more wickets for Tasmania in any of the previous eight seasons (50 in 2018-19 and 40 in 2015-16).
- Beau Webster (Tasmania) has made a good connection on 77 per cent of 1,590 balls faced this Sheffield Shield season, the second highest of any player in the competition (min. three innings). He has scored two centuries and one half-century across his last three Sheffield Shield games.
The Marsh Sheffield Shield final will be broadcast live on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports, as well as live streamed free on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app.
Sheffield Shield 2023-24 standings
| 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