WA blood Connolly as Tigers bowl in Shield final

Western Australia have made a big call at the selection table ahead of the Marsh Sheffield Shield final, picking 20-year-old Cooper Connolly for his maiden first-class match. 

Connolly is one of two changes to WA's side that defeated Victoria in their last start, with D'Arcy Short replacing the concussed Cameron Bancroft at the top of the order and fast bowler Liam Haskett dropped. 

Tasmania captain Jordan Silk won the toss at the WACA Ground and chose to bowl first.

Western Australia XI: Sam Whiteman (c), D’Arcy Short, Jayden Goodwin, Hilton Cartwright, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis (wk), Cooper Connolly, Joel Paris, Charlie Stobo, Cameron Gannon, Corey Rocchiccioli 

 

Tasmania XI: Caleb Jewell, Matthew Wade, Charlie Wakim, Jordan Silk (c), Jake Doran (wk), Beau Webster, Brad Hope, Jarrod Freeman, Gabe Bell, Iain Carlisle, Riley Meredith 

The Tigers have brought back express quick Riley Meredith who was rested for the final round match against South Australia, replacing Kieran Elliott. 

Spin-bowling allrounder Connolly was one of the heroes of Perth Scorchers' KFC BBL|12 winning campaign, with a stunning 25no off 11 balls in the final.

He was selected ahead of Test-capped Ashton Agar for the fifth bowling spot, a spot that Haskett has held for the second half of the season. However with allrounder Aaron Hardie right to resume bowling, the WA brainstrust have gone for an extra spin option. 

Teague Wyllie, who has featured in both of WA's winning sides over the two most recent seasons, was also left out. 

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