Stung by previous Sheffield Shield final failures, Will Sutherland is determined to take Victoria back to the top this season
He has represented Australia and remains on the national radar after touring with the ‘A’ side last year, but Will Sutherland says leading Victoria to Sheffield Shield glory is his “main motivator” at this point of his career.
Sutherland was part of both Victorian teams that fell short in Sheffield Shield finals to Western Australia in 2021-22 and ’22-23 and was visibly emotional when they were knocked out of the race with a final-round defeat to the same opponent the following season – his first as full-time captain.
The 26-year-old allrounder has a strong Shield final record with a five-wicket haul in each of those matches, as well as top scoring for his team with 83 runs in the second.
But both of Sutherland’s previous finals were away in Perth, with this season’s home final a “huge” advantage as he seeks to lead the state to their first Shield title in seven years – which was also the last time they hosted the decider at Junction Oval.
Like South Australia were when they broke a 29-year Shield title drought 12 months ago, Victoria have been the dominant team all season, becoming just the fifth in Shield history to win seven home-and-away matches in a single campaign as they secured top spot with a 16-point margin.
“It would mean so much,” said Sutherland on the prospect of lifting the iconic trophy. “I’ve played in a couple of losing finals, which certainly stung at the time and even still (do).
“It’s a great effort to be able to make the Shield final and I was proud of my own performances in those games.
“You hear the past players talk about their Shield success so much and the great Victorian teams that were (around) when I was coming through school.
“I’ve been captain for a few years and have come through with a lot of the guys that are in the squad and in the team at the moment, to share it with those guys would be incredible.”
Sutherland revealed on match eve that fast bowler Sam Elliott had edged out Mitch Perry for the final spot in Victoria’s XI to face South Australia at Junction Oval from Thursday, with rested seamer Fergus O’Neill’s return expected to be the only change for either side from their previous encounter in round 10.
Only three Victorians playing in the final will be aged over 30 – Peter Handscomb (34), Scott Boland (36) and Marcus Harris (33) – and Sutherland believes they will be challenging for several years.
“Seeing the young guys come through over the last few years and the journey that we’ve been on, I think we’re going to be a good team for years to come, not just this game, whatever the result may be,” he said.
“You don’t win seven games in a season by chance, so I think it sets us up nicely for years to come.”
Sutherland’s performances have peaked leading into the final, breaking through for his first first-class century in almost three-and-a-half in their 353-run thumping of WA in round eight, which booked the state’s spot in the season decider.
The Vics skipper credited time spent with coach Chris Rogers on technical improvements when he was rested from the previous match against Queensland for his return to red-ball runs, while he has also picked up multiple wickets in four of his six bowling innings since.
He also hit a half-century in Victoria’s last match against the same opponent they’ll face in the final.
“The way Chris Rogers goes about it, he likes to leave no stone unturned,” Sutherland said.
“I’m very grateful to have gone to work with him for those five or six days, just to fix up a few things like my trigger step and hand position and my back shoulder was coming around a little bit.
“There was a whole variety of things that I probably had to knock on the head; there’s always things that creep back in that you’ve got to stay on top of.
“It was good to be able to work with ‘Bucky’ (Rogers) for an extended period of time … him and (assistant coach) Ben Rohrer have been awesome for my batting and the rest of the squad and with all our young players this season in particular.”
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
