Victoria have locked in hosting rights for the Sheffield Shield final after a dominant season to date
Victoria are in the box seat to win their first Sheffield Shield title in seven seasons after securing a home final with two rounds still to play.
The Vics have an unassailable 16.38-point lead at the top of the table having taken six wins from their eight matches. While Chris Rogers’ side may be locked in, there is still plenty to play out among the contenders for second spot, with fewer than seven points separating second and fifth.
The top two sides after 10 rounds qualify for the final of the Shield, which will be hosted by Victoria on March 26-30. Here’s a reminder on the scoring system:
Teams get six points for an outright win, one point for a draw, plus 0.01 of a bonus point for every run over 200 they score during the first 100 overs of their first innings (ie: 350 after 100 overs nets you 1.5 bonus points) and 0.1 of a bonus point for every wicket a team takes during the first 100 overs of their opponent’s first innings (ie: 10 wickets before 100 first-innings overs elapses nets you 1 point).
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
8
6
2
0
0
0
7.46
7.3
50.76
2
QLD
8
3
3
2
0
0
8.18
6.2
34.38
3
SA
8
3
2
3
0
0
4.83
7.6
33.43
4
TAS
8
3
3
2
0
2
3.73
6.5
28.23
5
NSW
8
2
3
3
0
0
5.93
6.9
27.83
6
WA
8
1
5
2
0
0
1.99
7.2
17.19
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
Below is a look at each state’s remaining matches and their potential path to the end-of-season decider.
Click here to see the Sheffield Shield fixtures
1. Victoria (50.76 points)
Most runs: Peter Handscomb (579)
Most wickets: Sam Elliott (28)
Remaining matches:
Away v Tasmania, Bellerive Oval (Mar 5-8)
Home v South Australia, Junction Oval (Mar 14-17)
Victoria confirmed their spot in the Sheffield Shield final after a convincing win over Western Australia in Perth in round eight and will host the final on March 26-30. Recently promoted opener Sam Harper was the star with a century in each innings, only the fifth player to achieve that feat in the Shield in the past decade after Sam Konstas, Daniel Hughes, Alex Doolan and Jake Weatherald.
The Vics play the fourth-placed Tasmania and the third-placed South Australia to finish the regular season and could determine the fate of those two sides who are both still in the running to face Victoria in the decider.
The ladder leaders are also set to be strengthened by the return of former Test opener Marcus Harris, who has been sidelined following back surgery.
2. Queensland (34.38 points)
Most runs: Marnus Labuschagne (463)
Most wickets: Mitch Swepson (27)
Remaining matches:
Home v Western Australia, Allan Border Field (Mar 5-8)
Away v Tasmania, Bellerive Oval (Mar 14-17)
Queensland’s buffer on the third-placed team dropped from 6.65 points to only 0.95 in the space of a single round after they lost at home to South Australia by seven wickets in round eight. However, two wins to round out the season will be enough to qualify for the final, barring a very unlikely bonus point scenario by SA.
The Bulls host the last-placed Western Australia in round night and then will travel to Tasmania to face the Tigers, who could also still be in contention at that stage depending on their round nine results.
Queensland will regain Matt Renshaw after Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign ended early and could also have access to Xavier Bartlett. Will the Bulls end up regretting their one-wicket loss to WA back in round four?
3. South Australia (33.43 points)
Most runs: Jake Lehmann (531)
Most wickets: Nathan McAndrew (23)
Remaining matches:
Home v NSW, Karen Rolton Oval (Mar 5-8)
Away v Victoria, Junction Oval (Mar 14-17)
South Australia’s big win at the Gabba last round now has last year’s champions breathing down the neck of Queensland in second spot. However, their run home is anything but simple.
They will first host New South Wales who despite sitting in fifth place, have been unlucky to walk away from the past two rounds with only two draws after periods of dominance against both SA and Tasmania. South Australia’s regular season will then close with a trip to St Kilda to face Victoria, with the Vics winning the reverse fixture by four wickets all the way back in round two.
All eyes will be on the availability of Travis Head who has a couple weeks before he’s due to link up with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.
4. Tasmania (28.23 points)
Most runs: Jake Doran (540)
Most wickets: Gabe Bell (29)
Remaining matches:
Home v Victoria, Bellerive Oval (Mar 5-8)
Home v Queensland, Bellerive Oval (Mar 14-17)
Tasmania will finish the season with two home games but they will have to defeat both of the top two sides in Victoria and Queensland if they are to qualify for this season’s final.
The Tigers will be boosted by the return of Matthew Kuhnemann after the T20 World Cup and have already benefitted from the return of Beau Webster who was superb in securing a draw with a century against NSW in round eight.
5. NSW (27.83 points)
Most runs: Kurtis Patterson (535)
Most wickets: Liam Hatcher (33)
Remaining matches:
Away v South Australia, Karen Rolton Oval (Mar 5-8)
Home v Western Australia, Cricket Central (Mar 14-17)
It’s not officially season over for New South Wales but given they are 6.55 points shy of Queensland in second place, they would need everything to go right if they were to make the final.
All they can do is win their final two matches against South Australia and Western Australia and then hope other results go their way. With two draws in their past two matches, NSW will feel unlucky not to have snagged at least one victory, in the previous fixture against SA where rain intervened and most recently against Tasmania, where Beau Webster stood up for the Tigers.
6. Western Australia (17.19 points)
Most runs: Cameron Bancroft (521)
Most wickets: Cameron Gannon (32)
Remaining matches:
Away v Queensland, Allan Border Field (Mar 5-8)
Away v NSW, Cricket Central (Mar 14-17)
It’s looking like a second-straight wooden spoon for Western Australia which would follow their three consecutive titles. That being said, a couple of wins to finish would see them out of bottom spot, but a place in the final is now out of reach.
It will be Adam Voges’ last pair of games in charge of his state, having overseen the most dominant period in WA’s history. They’ve had some excellent performers this season too, with Cameron Gannon (31 wickets) and Corey Rocchiccioli (31) sitting second and third for total wickets respectively. The ever-reliable Cameron Bancroft (521 runs) is one of only seven players this season with over 500 runs.
There’s also some hope of Cameron Green, Josh Inglis and Cooper Connolly returning to the Shield, but the chances of seeing the retiring Mitch Marsh ahead of the IPL appear slim.
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
8
6
2
0
0
0
7.46
7.3
50.76
2
QLD
8
3
3
2
0
0
8.18
6.2
34.38
3
SA
8
3
2
3
0
0
4.83
7.6
33.43
4
TAS
8
3
3
2
0
2
3.73
6.5
28.23
5
NSW
8
2
3
3
0
0
5.93
6.9
27.83
6
WA
8
1
5
2
0
0
1.99
7.2
17.19
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
