Last season’s One-Day Cup Player of the Tournament has found form across all formats in a breakout twelve months for the South Australian allrounder
Fresh off taking a five-wicket haul in front of his brother at the Gabba, Liam Scott admitted he is having the time of his life playing cricket in Adelaide.
Raised in New South Wales with family in Queensland, Scott has found a home in South Australia since making his Sheffield Shield debut in November of 2019.
Named as the One-Day Cup’s Player of the Tournament last season, the allrounder showed his class in another competition this summer, named as the 12th man in the KFC BBL|15 Team of the Tournament after an outstanding campaign with the Strikers.
It’s this competition that has given Scott confidence and belief in his ability that he’s taken to the longest form of the game.
“I’ve been given a bit more opportunity in the Big Bash in particular this year,” Scott said.
“I batted a bit higher which was nice, but I think we’ve got a pretty good crew amongst the South Australia team and Strikers team as well where I’m just enjoying my cricket. Everyone plays good cricket when they’re having fun, so for me I’m really enjoying where I am at the moment.”
Playing all ten matches for the Strikers in BBL|15, Scott produced 310 runs at an average of 51.66 in his best Big Bash campaign yet. Although while he dominated with the bat in BBL|15, Monday’s performance against Queensland in the Sheffield Shield was a timely reminder for just how good Scott is with the ball.
Nearly four years on from his maiden Sheffield Shield five-wicket haul against the Bulls, Scott claimed another handful of wickets with 5-33 at the Gabba on an entertaining 14-wicket opening day of South Australia’s clash with Queensland.
While satsified with his performance with the ball, Scott noted that his skipper, Nathan McSweeney, won an important toss that allowed him and the bowlers to prosper on a green Gabba pitch.
“To win the toss on a pretty bowler-friendly wicket was nice,” Scott said.
“We’ve still got a lot of work to do tomorrow with the bat, but it was nice to rock and roll them for a reasonably good total. Hopefully we can start tomorrow well and build a good partnership somewhere to put pressure back on the opposition.”
Scott has now taken 19 wickets across this season’s competition at an average of 24.47 and measly economy of 2.47. The right-arm bowler dismissed both Queensland openers, including former Australian Test player Usman Khawaja, on his way to helping the visitors knock over Queensland for 185 at the Gabba.
Despite his standout performance, Scott had plenty of praise for his teammates, including 22-year-old debutant Campbell Thompson who bowled four consecutive maidens in his first four overs of first-class cricket to make his mark on day one of the contest.
“Young Campbell (Thompson) on debut bowled really well,” Scott said.
“It was awesome to see that and he swung the ball nicely up top. When you bowl in bowler friendly conditions, there is probably a little bit of pressure for you to put the ball in the right areas. It was good that we were able to not search too much and let the conditions go to work. There’s a lot of cricket left in the game, but hopefully we can back it up with the ball in the second innings.”
Not only is Scott the state’s third-highest wicket-taker in the 2025-2026 Sheffield Shield, he is also South Australia’s third-highest run-scorer with 365 runs at an average of 40.55.
With South Australia still 123 runs behind Queensland with six wickets in hand, the 25-year-old knows he has a job to do with the bat for his side when play resumes tomorrow.
“I think Jimmy (Jason Sangha) and (Alex) Carey batted really well and showed a pretty decent blueprint as to how to go about it,” Scott said.
“If you put a couple of partnerships together, hopefully things go your way… and we can get to a good total. There’s a lot of cricket left.”
Currently fourth on the Sheffield Shield table, SA trail second-placed Queensland by just 7.09 points in a tight and tense race for the final, set to be held between 26-29 March.
Knowing the importance of a victory in this contest, Scott admitted the reigning champions have work to do to ensure they can return to this season’s finale.
“Every team wants to win, so for us it’s just trying to do all the little things,” Scott said.
“I think that culmintates in results. You try and not look too far ahead, and you take it game by game and and almost ball by ball, and hopefully you come out on the receiving side. We’ve definitely played some good cricket this year, and hopefully a bit more good cricket to come, and we can see results go our way.”
Sheffield Shield 2025-26 standings
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
7
5
2
0
0
0
5.87
6.3
42.17
2
QLD
7
3
2
2
0
0
8.18
5.2
33.38
3
TAS
7
3
3
1
0
2
3.73
6
26.73
4
SA
7
2
2
3
0
0
4.69
6.6
26.29
5
NSW
7
2
3
2
0
0
4.67
5.9
24.57
6
WA
7
1
4
2
0
0
1.61
6.5
16.11
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
