Vics edge ahead as wickets tumble in Shield final

Eleven wickets fall on extended day two as Victoria reach stumps four down and still 88 behind South Australia

Victoria’s trusty pace brigade has them in prime position to seize the Sheffield Shield, though the losses of their three main run-scoring weapons has left the door ajar for South Australia in the five-day final at the Junction Oval.

The home side just need a draw now to clinch the silverware after SA failed to secure any batting bonus points. Only captain Nathan McSweeney (52 off 127) passed fifty for the visitors, who were rolled for 198 – a gloomy total to match a cold, cloudy Friday that forced fielders into donning multiple woollen jumpers.

But a verdant St Kilda pitch that was still offering major seam movement at the tail-end of an extended second day has added to the defending champions’ belief they can defend their Shield title for the first time in South Australia’s history.

Henry Hunt taking a chance at gully off Ollie Peake as evening shadows lengthened would have further enlivened McSweeney’s men. Instead, the catch burst through to hit Hunt’s face, two years after he suffered a horrific and season-ending facial injury at this same ground.

While Hunt swiftly ran off the ground and was not sighted for the reminder of the day, South Australia have indicated the damage is not as bad this time and the opener should be fine to keep playing.

Peake (16no) and Marcus Harris (26no) took the Vics’ score to 4-110 by stumps, trailing SA by 88.

“The game’s evenly balanced. Now with the bonus points (lost), we’ve got to win outright,” said SA quick Nathan McAndrew, who took 2-37 from nine overs.

“We probably expected to get a result anyway so I don’t think it’s the end of the world.

“It would have been nice – it’s certainly not a bad thing to win on first-innings – but the way the game’s moving and even with a bit of weather around, with the fifth day you’re still pretty confident of getting a result.”

Leading the Vics’ response after two rain breaks dragged SA’s first innings later into the afternoon, Sam Harper launched the latest in a sequence of gripping new-ball assaults, slamming 10 off the first two balls he faced and pounding both opening bowlers for six – but was soon gone for 20 off just 10 balls.

His bold ploy to stand leg-side of his stumps helped him lift Nathan McAndrew’s first ball for a daring six over third man. It then left him vulnerable to a straighter McAndrew reply that seamed away and caught Harper’s outside edge.

It proved a telling early blow. After Dylan Brasher was caught down the leg-side, Peter Handscomb, this season’s leading run scorer and the only Victorian who had a more prolific regular season than Harper, was then exposed to McAndrew while the ball was still new.

He duly nicked off to SA’s leading bowler too.  

Campbell Kellaway silenced the dangerous and occasionally vicious McAndrew with arguably the shot of the match so far – a poised on-driven four – but tangled himself like raspberry liquorice against the extra pace of Henry Thornton and ballooned a catch to McSweeney.

Harris, in his new role at No.5, and Peake were both fortunate to survive to stumps, the former playing and missing countless times.

“I think just with the extra bit of grass on it, it’s just like random nip sometimes out of nowhere,” said Victoria captain Will Sutherland.

“‘Harry’ (Harris) just came in laughing and said he may as well have had the bat upside down for his first few balls.

“So hats off to him for getting through. It’s going to be doing plenty for the rest of the game, so the boys have to keep fighting.

“We’ve got to bat a long period of time for the for the draw to come into it. That will also mean we’ll be in a good position to win the game – so (the possibility of playing for a draw) probably doesn’t change our thinking.

“Maybe if things go pear-shaped, then maybe it gives us an option to try and hold out.”

Resuming day two on 11no along with SA’s other Test-capped bat McSweeney, Alex Carey this morning flayed Scott Boland’s first ball of the day over cover.

But the normally fast-scoring keeper from there only squeaked along, reaching 26 from 88 balls before chopping on to a wide Sam Elliott delivery.

It opened up the middle order for the Victorian quicks, their potency unchecked by the ageing ball. Sutherland had Jake Lehmann caught well in the gully and then Ben Manenti (28 off 32) falling into a leg-side trap aiming to repeat a pulled six.

The skipper’s scalps came either side of McSweeney’s rare lapse in judgement, caught on the crease prodding at Boland, while O’Neill was still striking against the tail with seam movement with the 70-plus over old ball.

Scott helped eke out 46 runs for the final three wickets to have SA in sight of passing 200 after the second of two afternoon squalls, but was bowled by one that shot low off Sutherland.

Had SA passed 200, it would have put the pressure on Victoria to at least reach the same mark or risk giving the visitors the tie-breaker in case of a stalemate.

But the pace of this match, and the 2025-26 Shield season overall, would suggest only more bad weather could bring about a draw in this contest.

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