Victoria missed the final by the equivalent of 28 more runs or three wickets in the first innings
Eliminated states rue near misses in tight Shield season
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Western Australia believe they have the "nucleus" the challenge again next summer as Victoria rue four straight losses either side of the midseason break that saw them pipped of a spot in the Sheffield Shield final by 0.27 points.
Victoria finished with more wins than second-placed Queensland, who secured enough batting bonus points in their final-round draw with South Australia to become the first team since 2003-04 (excluding the Covid shortened seasons) to qualify for the decider with only three wins.
In a measure of how tight this season's Shield competition was, that 0.27-point margin separating Queensland and Victoria – who finished third following their narrow win over WA in the final game of the season – was the equivalent of scoring and extra 27 runs or taking three more wickets in the first innings.
The current points system where teams are awarded six points for a win, one for a draw and 0.01 and 0.1 respectively for runs and wickets in the first 100 overs of the first innings was introduced 11 seasons ago – but only once previously (Victoria in 2015-16) has a team reached the final with fewer wins than a team below them in the standings.
Bulls wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson, whose brilliant 128 alongside Jack Wildermuth's 90-ball 104 in their round 10 clash with SA secured Queensland enough batting points to qualify, said it was "crazy to think that" three wins could get a team into a Shield final.
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Victoria captain Will Sutherland was also perplexed after their 34-run win over WA, but ultimately Queensland's stronger first innings batting across the season and their four draws to the Vics' one, was enough to hold onto second place.
While Sutherland's side took the most wickets of any team (93) in the first 100 overs of their opponent's first innings, they only batted beyond 100 overs in their own first innings twice all season.
That resulted in Victoria claiming the fewest batting bonus points (5.19) of any team in 2024-25, while they also finished level with Tasmania for the most losses with five.
Whereas Queensland – who took the third most wickets in the first 100 overs with 87 – batted beyond 100 first-innings overs six times to finish with the highest amount of batting bonus points (9.06) of all teams.
The Bulls also had the highest first-innings batting strike rate (54.5) this season.
Sutherland said his side only had themselves to blame after surrendering winning positions against NSW and South Australia in their previous two matches.
"We've only got ourselves to blame, we lost four in a row and two games we know we definitely should have won," he said.
"We did win four games and Queensland won three and they've somehow made the final, so that is a little bit interesting and confusing with the bonus point system.
"We've got a young group and exciting group but there's plenty of work to be done.
"Credit to WA, they almost made another Shield final so happy to keep them out of it and for us to finish with a win was really good and credit to them for playing a quality game of cricket."
WA captain Sam Whiteman believes the three-time defending champions' reign is far from over despite the loss also seeing them finish last for the first time in the six-team competition (Tasmania joined in 1977–78).
"It was disappointing to get so close, but it's been a bit of a frustrating year for the group and we'll reflect over the next few months and get back to work in June and look to keep winning," he said.
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"Losing a few games (at the WACA Ground) has been a bit disappointing as well because it's been such a fortress over the last three years.
"No doubt we'll get back to the drawing board and look to keep getting better.
"I'm sure it's not the end of the successful period for WA.
"The impact that Cooper Connolly's had in five first-class games has been amazing.
"Jayden Goodwin's had a good year and represented Australia A, Sam Fanning has been more consistent in Shield cricket this year and Teague Wyllie's in and around the squad as well.
"Those guys are definitely the nucleus for the future of WA's batting and then Brody Couch has had a really positive impact in his first year since coming over.
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"So there are positives but we've set a pretty high standard over the last few years and it hurts a bit at the moment."
Fifth-placed Tasmania were also left disappointed not to reach the final again, with their thumping win over NSW in the final round seeing them finish less than a win behind Queensland in second.
But Test spinner Matthew Kuhnemann, who took 24 wickets in his first season with the Tigers, believes more success isn't too far away for Tasmanians following their KFC BBL|14 triumph.
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"It was very good to finish the season on a high and it sets us up quite well for next season," he said following his 5-49 in the NSW second innings.
"This group, we hold really high standards, so we're disappointed we're not in the final.
"But what we're growing down here is something really special and I think the silverware and holding the Shield isn't too far away."
Sheffield Shield standings 2024-25
| Team | M | W | L | D | N/R | Ded. | Bat | Bowl | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
SA
|
10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7.61 | 9 | 55.61 |
|
2
QLD
|
10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9.06 | 8.7 | 39.76 |
|
3
VIC
|
10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.19 | 9.3 | 39.49 |
|
4
NSW
|
10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6.99 | 8.4 | 36.39 |
|
5
TAS
|
10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7.72 | 8.2 | 35.92 |
|
6
WA
|
10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5.83 | 8.6 | 35.43 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
D: Drawn
N/R: No results
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
Bowl: Bowling Bonus
PTS: Total points