No Sheffield Shield final = REBvolting

[The Dark Knight]

No No No No, this cant be happening
There are serious negotiations to scrap the SS final
Resaon Why
To accomodate the T20 league to avoid a close clash with the T20 Champions league

Robert Crash Legend Craddock report quotes :

CA has been advised to make the stunning call to axe the SS final
A first past the post winner would be the winner, with no final
A CA sub-committee has urged the ACB to scrap the final from next season to make way for the new expanded 20/20 comp

WTF? That is absolute Bullsh!t!!!!! They can't possibly do that, it's the Sheffield Shield. FFS what the hell are they thinking??

[whufc]

Not a big fan of the shield final,

all year the game is played over 4 days and then for the final they play a 5th day, could you imagine if they played a 5th quarter in the AFL GF.

Also the home team doesnt have to win and generally the pitches are flat as giving the home side every oppurtunity to draw and meaning the away side has to make stupid declartions to stand a chance of victory.

[Dogwatcher]

If we're to keep the final but have the chance of a result...why not give the top side the home advantage but get a neutral to look after the pitch for that game?

[bayman]

all year the game is played over 4 days and then for the final they play a 5th day, could you imagine if they played a 5th quarter in the AFL GF.

the AFL (as well as other football leagues) as we know has another match if the grand final is a draw

[mal]

How about the SS final be awarded to the side that gets the most points [as it is every other SS game]
I know its a bit dopey
But If you have a most points and first innings wins is a result without the outright, then the curators have no incentive to produce roads
Sides losing on first innings would have to then make the running in the 2nd digs

Just a thought

[Jim05]

Just play unlimited match. See if the curators prepare a flat deck after the first one goes for 7 days.

[whufc]

How about the SS final be awarded to the side that gets the most points [as it is every other SS game]
I know its a bit dopey
But If you have a most points and first innings wins is a result without the outright, then the curators have no incentive to produce roads
Sides losing on first innings would have to then make the running in the 2nd digs

Just a thought

I like!

[Rik E Boy]

Unfortunately the posters on this threat are cricket followers, that is the real cricket and whilst we with the many hundreds attend and watch the Shield, the masses, in the modern way, seek instant gratification and a result in 3 hours. They voted (unfortunately) with their feet last year with the big numbers at the 20/20 matches. The decision is purely based on money. I must admit I sat amongst the masses last year at Adelaide Oval and watched with admiration the exploits of Pollard, Afridi and co., but I agree with all, that doesn't make it right.

If the majority of fans prefer to watch teeball then that's fair enough. However CA has bigger responsibilities...like the legacy of the game. This mob of faceless men don't OWN the game of the Cricket, they are merely privelleged enough to be custodians of the game for a limited time. The Sheffield Shield is the best domestic competition in the world and is THE reason why Australia have such a good record in Test Cricket against ALL nations. As such it deserves a finale benefitting such an important competition to the Game, even if fans don't attend the shield in large numbers. Mally's one innings idea is a good one and is preferable to scrapping the game (like I said the closest that some cricketers will get to a test match) just to make some extra coin. Bottom line decisions aren't always in the best interest of the game and I reckon if CA go ahead with this they have dropped the ball. How long until the Shield becomes one match only against each state instead of two?

regards,

REB

[Jim05]

Fair point. Everything at domestic level should revolve around making our test team the best in the world. Nothing elsr should even matter. We need to schedule shield matches so the best are playing the best, no good scheduling shield games the same time as test matches. Stuff the teeball it is a bit of hit and giggle thats ruining test match cricket

[smac]

I think we'd be better served making shield games five days and forgetting the final.

[FlyingHigh]

I would be sad to see it go too (especially to be replaced by meaningless 20/20 games), but is it really that surprising it is on the chopping block?

Have a look at the boring one-sided results from the last 5 years where on each occasion the home team has batted forever and never looked like losing. Unfortunately the longer form of the game is not really suited to being decided by a single game.

09/10 Vic d Qld by 457 runs
08/09 Vic set Qld 593 to win and match ends in draw
07/08 NSW set Vic 629 to win and win by 258 runs
06/07 Tas d NSW by 421 runs
05/06 Qld d Vic by innings and 354 runs (they made 6/900 in first innings)

592 is the lowest 4th innings target set to win!

And Mal, you can't say that Gilchrist and Watson wouldn't have gone on to become the star players they did if the Shield Final didn't exist.

IIRC, Tassie's win wasn't exactly like the others in that they didn't bat first and make 1000 runs, it was more of a challenge. They batted first and had a bit of a lead, but were then in trouble not that far ahead in the second innings, but then their tail really wagged, with Butterworth scoring a ton, and then they rolled NSW pretty cheaply.

Anyway, if there were valid reason for dropping the shield final and fewer Ryobi Cup games, then it would be disappointing but understandable, but I don't think more 20-20 games is a vaalid reason.

I would like to see the 20-20 comp put in it's place a bit, by merging it with the Ryobi Cup, so that each team plays each other both H&A in both a 20-20 and One-Dayer, ie 10 of each, and the one-dayers would be worth 6 points, and the 20-20's 3 points, with bonus points available in each game, and the final would be a one-dayer, or perhaps even a series of 3.