'Keeper-batter's consistency has rarely wavered through challenging period, as he and Queensland found a way into Shield final
Pain and proven performers behind charge of the Bulls: Peirson
Jimmy Peirson has detailed the personal pain he endured after Queensland's wooden-spoon finish in last season's Sheffield Shield – an outcome that contributed to the exit of one of his mentors, Wade Seccombe, as head coach.
Twelve months on, Peirson will this week line up for the Bulls in the Shield final against South Australia in Adelaide, representing a turnaround in fortunes he did not see coming.
"If you'd asked me this time last year, 'Will you be in the final next year?' I couldn't have seen it, because we were in a tough spot," the 32-year-old told cricket.com.au. "So I'm really proud of the way we've come together as a group."
Despite being a typically consistent performer through that 2023-24 campaign (he was picked as wicketkeeper in cricket.com.au's Shield team of the season), Peirson felt a personal responsibility as captain for the Bulls' first wooden spoon in a generation and the subsequent departure of Seccombe, who as a fellow gloveman had played a significant role in his development since his teens.
"That was extremely tough," he said. "Probably mostly for me personally as well, because I captained a lot of that year, and there were things going on in the background, and (we knew) there was going to be some change.
"There's no other way to describe it than sad. For us it was the end of an era, with the coach moving on – someone who'd been part of our group since pathways, all the way through to (head) coach of Queensland, and us not performing forced that change.
"I was incredibly sad and disappointed with how that season went. I had time to take stock and reflect in the off-season, and it felt like a turning of the page; I was like: Righto, I want to be part of this next group, and I don't want to go through that again – I want to make sure we're always competitive, and always playing for trophies."
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Peirson's performances have reflected that determination. Heading into the final, he is Queensland's leading run-scorer this Shield season, having topped 600 runs for the first time in a campaign, while collecting another 39 dismissals to be just three shy of joining Seccombe, Chris Hartley and John Maclean as the Queensland glovemen to reach 300 in their career.
And if there's a through line for Queensland's nine Shield winning teams across the past three decades, it begins and ends with the wicketkeepers.
Only Hartley separates the 1995 original, Seccombe, from the incumbent, Peirson, while in all, the Bulls have really only used four wicketkeepers – Ian Healy being the other (min 20 dismissals) – since that breakthrough Shield triumph, which occurred this week 30 years ago after a final win over South Australia at the Gabba.
It is the fewest deployed by any state through that window and a significant point of pride for the Queenslanders, with Peirson having served his apprenticeship under Hartley until he was 24, and Hartley having done likewise with Seccombe more than a decade earlier.
"Absolutely, there's a legacy there," Peirson said. "The 'keeper legacy is extremely important here in Queensland and it's something I'm passionate about. I know that what 'Harts' (Hartley) did before me gave me a lot to live up to, and same with 'Chuck' (Seccombe) before him.
"It's a big job, and it's big shoes to fill. I'd like to think that when my time comes to an end, I've set a standard that the next (wicketkeeper) can aspire to and drive, and then set their own bars; break records, do their thing. But they need to understand how important it is for that tradition to continue."
Peirson's ubiquity in Queensland's first-class set-up for the past eight seasons is also representative of a broader trend for this Bulls group, and perhaps one of the secrets to its success; in that window, WA, with three titles, is the only other side to win multiple Shields.
For this week's decider, state selectors could well pick eight players from both the 2020-21 and 2017-18 Shield-winning squads – Peirson, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Matt Renshaw, Jack Wildermuth, Mitch Swepson, Michael Neser and Mark Steketee. All of those players have appeared in at least 60 Shield matches.
Peirson, who is averaging 36.77 with the bat across the past three Shield seasons, puts that consistency in personnel down to a combination of retaining quality while simultaneously future proofing, as is happening presently with Queensland's fast-bowling battery through the introductions of youngsters Callum Vidler, Tom Straker and Tom Whitney.
"We've been really lucky – that group of players that have come through have been proven performers for all those years," he said. "When you're a proven performer, you keep getting selected, and I think it's testament to those individuals, but also us as a squad – we've shown it's a team that can win (Shields).
"It's probably not been sexy this year but we've found our way into a final and I'm really proud of the group for that, and also really confident coming into a final that we've got a lot of guys who have been there and done it a couple of times now.
"And we've got a nice little mix in our bowling contingent at the moment where we've been able to play our senior bowlers with one or two younger bowlers to almost teach them the ways and help them on their journey.
"But you never know how many finals you're going to play, and we've been lucky enough to (be in) three now. We want to win as many as we can, and there's no reason why we can't add to the trophy cabinet. I think if we're being honest with ourselves, as a group we've probably not played enough finals – we should've played more, and won more, with that senior group of players.
"It's funny, as you get older, you do think about legacy, and you do think about those teams that came before you. And I think it's somewhat poetic that, 30 years on (from Queensland's first Shield title) it's the same teams playing for another Shield.
"This group knows how special it is, and what it means to those guys who have come before us. We know what happened in '94-95, and I can't see why we can't recreate that this year."
Sheffield Shield final 2024-25
March 26-30 (10.35am ACDT): South Australia v Queensland, Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide
The Sheffield Shield final will be broadcast live on Foxtel, Kayo Sports, cricket.com.au and the CA Live app
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