Down the Hill wrote:I’ve been away so missing some of the bleating of KG etc. about the shield final being at AO. But I’ve had some time for a bit of research and wondering if anyone in the media has stated the FACTS about shield finals for at least the last 15 years. I.e. I don’t believe any have been played at an AFL venue. QLD have hosted at least their last 3 at Allan Border. NSW have only hosted one for many years and that was at Manuka. VIC have either hosted at Junction or neutral (Alice Springs & Hobart). And SA of course hosted at Glenelg which was before Karen Rolton became fully developed. I thought KR was built for this exact situation. So why can’t people except that grounds like the MCG, SCG, AO & the Gabba will ever host a shield final again unless they change the domestic schedule to enable the final to be played late February.
Ed and Corbin also discussed this on the Grandstand Cricket Podcast on Monday and like you have pointed out having the Shield Final at an alternate venue to the main test match venues is a common occurrence in the recent past.