‘Not clear cut’: Tough selection calls loom for Shield finalists

One of Victoria’s leading wicket-takers this Sheffield Shield season is set to miss out on a spot in the final

Victoria are facing a brutal selection squeeze for the Sheffield Shield final with one of their top two wicket-takers for the season set to be omitted.

Coach Chris Rogers conceded quicks Mitch Perry and Sam Elliott were likely jostling for the final spot in XI to face South Australia from March 26 with Fergus O’Neill certain to return after he was rested for their final-round draw with the same opponent.

With Will Sutherland a lock as captain and Test star Scott Boland available for the season decider that Victoria will host at Junction Oval, it will be either Perry or Elliott as the unlucky player that makes way for star seamer O’Neill.

With O’Neill – the reigning Sheffield Shield player of the season – sitting out in round 10, the clash with SA loomed as a bowl off for the pair of quicks.

But neither could set themselves apart from the other. Elliott (2-53) grabbed two wickets from his 15 overs in the first innings while Perry returned 1-58 from 18.

Both went wicketless in the second innings as the match petered out to a draw, though Perry’s nine overs cost him 41 runs at 4.56 an over while Elliott’s economy rate was 2.1 from his 10 with five maidens.

The pair’s evenness mirrors their form across the season with Elliott (33 wickets in seven matches) and Perry (32 in eight matches) the Victorians’ most prolific Shield bowlers this season.

Elliott’s average (17.18) and strike rate (34.39) across the season are slightly ahead of Perry’s (21.75 and 43.43 respectively), while Elliott has taken three five-wicket hauls to Perry’s two.

Rogers said the decision could go either way.

“I don’t think it’s clear cut,” he said after the draw with SA.

“We will have to make a call, and we know that someone’s going to be disappointed. But that’s professional sport and that’s the ownership of being a selector.

“Both have been outstanding this season. So, it’s a really, really tough call.”

South Australia sealed their spot in a second consecutive Shield final on Sunday after they earned more first innings bonus points than Queensland did in their clash with Tasmania in Hobart. SA finished the season 7.43 points ahead in second place after the Bulls went down to the Tigers in round 10.

With their spot in the final secure, it took the pressure off SA to push for a result and when wet weather scuppered most of day three in Melbourne, it meant the Vics were unable to press for a record-equalling eighth win in a Sheffield Shield home-and-away season.

But Rogers said they still gained some valuable insights from the match with the final to be played at the same venue after his side locked away hosting rights by finishing more than 16 points clear at the top of the standings.

“There were some concepts that we as coaches were talking about and we can relay onto the players but I’m sure (SA) got something out of it as well,” Rogers said.

“We’ll have some conversations around how we play these conditions but we’re not sure if it (will be the same) in the final.”

Victoria will be closely monitoring emerging batter Dylan Brasher in the coming days after he was hit in the head while fielding at short leg on Tuesday. The 25-year-old was cleared to play out the match but if he does suffer any delayed concussion symptoms, like teammate Oliver Peake did following his hit in round eight against Western Australia, it would prevent Brasher from lining up in the Shield final due to Cricket Australia’s mandatory 12-day stand-down period.

SA have their own selection dilemma, though coach Ryan Harris revealed post-match that Test-capped quick Brendan Doggett was unlikely to recover in time from a hamstring injury.

“He’d (need) a scan to make sure it’s healed and then he’d have to bowl two days in a row,” Harris said.

“We’ll give him every possible chance.

“He’s been bowling … he did feel (the injury) the other day a little bit but he kept bowling.

“If he’s injured, we probably wouldn’t play him; I don’t want to go in thinking I’m going to substitute a player halfway through a final.”

But paceman Wes Agar is in the frame for a spot in their squad for the decider following a back injury, with the right-armer hoping to play in a club cricket semi-final in Adelaide this weekend to prove his fitness.

Harris said leg-spinner Lloyd Pope could also come into the conversation for a Shield final recall after almost 100 overs of spin were bowled across the four days at Junction Oval in round 10.

Pope has 11 wickets from four Shield games this summer, with five of those coming against Victoria in round one at Adelaide Oval.

“We’ve got a big selection meeting on Thursday, so I think seeing the conditions that (we had) here, it’s definitely a thought that we might bring him,” Harris said.

“But our team at the moment, everyone is playing pretty well, so it’s hard to leave someone out to bring him in.

“Nathan (McSweeney) bowled pretty well and he’s another option. I know he (spins the ball) the same way as Ben Manenti, but we’ll talk through that on Thursday.”

Sheffield Shield 2025-26

Final: Victoria v South Australia, Junction Oval, March 26-30