Liam Scott wins the Sheffield Shield player of the season award as finalists dominate voting leaderboard
Rising South Australian star Liam Scott has been crowned the Sheffield Shield player of the season for 2025-26.
Already on the national selectors’ radar after representing Australia A last year, Scott produced his career-best Shield season with both bat and ball to win the award by one vote from Victoria’s Mitch Perry.
It’s the second domestic accolade the 25-year-old has earned in the past two seasons after he was voted the One-Day Cup player of the season when SA won the title in 2024-25.
Earmarked as a future leader of South Australian cricket by his Adelaide Strikers coach Tim Paine, Scott finished the regular season with 496 runs and 23 wickets from nine matches to help his state qualify for consecutive Sheffield Shield finals.
With an average of 41.33, the right-hander was just one of nine batters to average over 40 during the regular season, highlighted by a maiden first-class century in December in their round six match against Tasmania.
He was just as impressive with the ball in round eight against Queensland at the Gabba last month with a career-best return of 5-33.
And his all-round effort in the second innings against Tasmania in November, where he took 2-16 from nine overs and then top scored with 53, helped edge SA home in a three-wicket thriller in round four.
Sydney-born Scott polled 15 votes across the season to finish ahead of Perry (14) and SA teammate Nathan McAndrew and Tasmanian Test star Beau Webster (Tasmania) who were equal third on 13. Voting was determined by the two standing umpires individually awarding a 3-2-1 for each match.
This season’s Shield finalists dominated the top of the leaderboard with Victorian duo Peter Handscomb and Sam Harper, who were also among the home-and-away campaign’s leading six run-scorers, finishing equal fifth.
Sheffield Shield Player of the Season
Player
Team
Votes
Liam Scott
SA
15
Mitch Perry
Victoria
14
Nathan McAndrew
SA
13
Beau Webster
Tasmania
13
Peter Handscomb
Victoria
12
Sam Harper
Victoria
12
“It’s great to receive this recognition, but we’ve got a huge game this week, and honestly, I’d trade any individual award for winning the Sheffield Shield,” Scott said.
“I’ve put in a lot of hard work over the past couple of years, so this award is a nice acknowledgement of that effort.
“I take a lot of pride in contributing to team success, whether that’s with South Australia or Adelaide Strikers, so it’s great to feel like I’m making an impact on the game.
“I owe a lot to South Australia and to head coach Ryan Harris for giving me the chance to come here and play professional cricket. ‘Ryno’ (Harris) has had a big impact on my career; he was my coach in the pathways coming through and we had a nice sort of bond that has helped me believe and build that self-confidence to do it at the next level.
“He’s definitely helped make my transition into first-class cricket a little bit easier.”
Scott’s breakout red-ball performances follow a career-best 310-run season at an average of 51.66 for the Strikers in the Big Bash, earning himself a spot in the team of the tournament.
In his role as Australia A head coach throughout 2025, Strikers coach Paine also worked with Scott during the team’s multi-format series against Sri Lanka A in Darwin last July, and their tour of India in September and October.
“I know South Australia have been really bullish on Liam Scott for a number of years,” Paine said.
“He’s a high-class allrounder that is only getting better and better. I think he’s got some real self-belief in his own game now … he wants to go to the very top level of cricket. Certainly, I think from what I’ve seen, he’s got the skillset, the mindset and the physical attributes to do it.”
Paine has also recognised Scott’s leadership skills, which he said he’ll be given opportunities to develop in the coming seasons with the Strikers.
“He’s really hungry for knowledge and asks lots of questions,” Paine said.
“He’s not the loudest guy in your group, but he’s got a bit of presence about him. Whenever he speaks, he’s normally right on the money … so he’s someone that we’ve earmarked in our leadership group.
“We’ll continue to put some work into him there and hope that he keeps developing, because he’s already a leader within our group. We think he’s got some potential there to keep adding to what he’s already doing for us.”
Scott will be aiming to claim more silverware as well as further his case for higher honours during this week’s Sheffield Shield final against Victoria in Melbourne where SA are seeking to win back-to-back titles for the first time in their history.
He will then get his first taste of English county cricket during the winter when he joins Gloucestershire for the T20 Blast season as well as two four-day fixtures in June.
Sheffield Shield final 2025-26
March 26-30: Victoria v South Australia, Junction Oval, Melbourne
The Sheffield Shield final will be broadcast live on cricket.com.au, the CA Live app, Foxtel and Kayo Sports
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
VIC
10
7
2
1
0
0
8.56
9.3
60.86
2
SA
10
4
2
4
0
0
7.61
9.2
44.81
3
QLD
10
3
4
3
0
0
8.18
8.2
37.38
4
TAS
10
4
4
2
0
2
3.73
8.5
36.23
5
NSW
10
2
4
4
0
0
6.94
8.6
31.54
6
WA
10
1
5
4
0
0
2.95
9.2
22.15
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
