Hardie bowling boost as Shield finalists weigh up options

Western Australia's chances of a Marsh Sheffield Shield 'three-peat' have been given a boost with confirmation star allrounder Aaron Hardie will be fit to bowl in this week's decider against Tasmania.

Hardie returned to the field in last week's sudden-death clash with Victoria as a specialist batter after missing the two-time reigning champion's previous match against Queensland and their Marsh One-Day Cup final triumph due to a minor calf strain, which also ruled the 25-year-old out of a late call up to Australia's T20 in New Zealand as an injury replacement for Marcus Stoinis.

The right-hander made a first-innings 40 against Victoria in a low-scoring affair at the Junction Oval to help WA secure hosting rights for the Shield final for the third straight season.

Although he didn't bowl in the match, Hardie was put through his paces after the 138-run win on day three as he sent down a few overs on the outfield.

In a season where WA have used nine pace options, with speedsters Jhye Richardson and Lance Morris playing just four Shield matches between them through injury and the latter's selection in Australia's ODI squad (where he picked up a side strain), head coach Adam Voges hailed the depth of his attack and the ability of those called upon to have an immediate impact.

"It's a squad mentality and we need multiple contributors to be able to get us to this point of the season; you've got to take 20 wickets each week to win games of Shield cricket," he said.

"For Cameron Gannon to come in (and take 20 wickets at 23.10 for the season), he's probably playing as well as he has done in his four years in WA.

"Charlie Stobo's provided a wonderful support role, does a lot of the grunt work for us. Joel (Paris) has been outstanding, Corey Rocchiccioli's been outstanding.

"I think we'll get Aaron Hardie to be able to bowl some overs in this game as well, which will be exciting.

"So we need to take 20 wickets again this week to win the game … I've got absolute faith in that bowling group that they'll be able to deliver."

Hardie's return to the bowling crease comes after Cricket Australia withdrew the allrounder from his planned County Championship stint with Surrey to manage his workload.

The West Australian was due to join the two-time reigning division one champions in May until the end of July, playing in the County Championship and the entire T20 Blast season.

After making both his one-day and T20 international debuts in the past seven months, Hardie looms as potential bolter for Australia's T20 World Cup squad to travel to the Caribbean in June.

He has played in three of Australia's past four T20 series and was again being considered to tour New Zealand last month until injuring his calf in WA's Shield match against Tasmania in February.

Surrey CCC said in a statement: "After a busy year, Cricket Australia have now decided to give him a longer period of rest and therefore he will not be available for Surrey."

Hardie's availability as a bowler for the Shield final gives WA the flexibility to balance their side after seamer Stobo batted at No.7 for their past two matches. It means Stobo or rising star Liam Haskett could be omitted should WA opt to go with an extra batter in either D'Arcy Short or Teague Wyllie.

While Voges revealed he did reach out to WA's Indian Premier League contingent to try and tempt a few of their international stars into a cameo Shield final appearance, the state has lost five players to the lucrative T20 tournament.

Australian allrounders Mitch Marsh (Delhi Capitals), Cameron Green (Royal Challengers Bangalore) and Marcus Stoinis (Lucknow Super Giants), along with Ashton Turner (Lucknow) and Richardson (Delhi) won't be available for the final due to their IPL commitments.

WA will also be without Morris who is in the early stages of returning to bowling after sustaining a side strain during the third ODI against the West Indies last month.

"We knew a long way out that Cricket Australia were going to allow the guys to go to the IPL and forego the Shield final … it is what it is," Voges said.

"Mitch hasn't played all year, Greeny's played a couple of games and played an important role when he has played, but for the majority, the guys who will be playing in the final are the ones who have got us here, so that's an exciting opportunity for them."

Tasmania are expected to welcome back speedster Riley Meredith for the final after he was rested for their round 10 loss to South Australia, and with veteran batter Matthew Wade delaying his departure to the IPL to play in the decider, their only looming selection headache is whether to include allrounder Mitch Owen who has recovered from side strain.

Owen hit 241 runs and took seven wickets in his seven matches this season before suffering the injury in Tasmania's round eight draw with WA last month.

"(Meredith) is a massive part of our attack and can really break games open, especially at the WACA (Ground) where it can get flat, air speed is key," Tigers allrounder Beau Webster told reporters before the squad departed for Perth this morning.

"It's a great addition to any side and we're very happy to have him back.

"Whatever XI we put out, it's been a full squad effort this year, we've used a lot of players, we've had injuries mainly to our bowling department and everyone who has come in has really stepped up."

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	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Drawn D	No results N/R	Deductions Ded.	Batting Bonus Bat	Bowling Bonus Bowl	Total points PTS
1 Western Australia Men WA	10	5	2	3	0	0	5.53	9.4	47.93
2 Tasmanian Tigers Men TAS	10	5	2	3	0	0	6.06	8.3	47.36
3 NSW Men NSW	10	4	3	3	0	0	6.31	9	42.31
4 Victoria Men VIC	10	4	4	2	0	0	4.74	8.2	38.94
5 South Australia Men SA	10	3	6	1	0	0	5.19	9.3	33.49
6 Queensland Bulls QLD	10	2	6	2	0	0	3.54	8.3	25.84

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

D: Drawn

N/R: No results

Ded.: Deductions

Bat: Batting Bonus

Bowl: Bowling Bonus

PTS: Total points