South Australia quick Brendan Doggett appears unlikely to be available for the Sheffield Shield final next week while Victoria look set to squeeze one of Mitchell Perry or Sam Elliott out of their side for the final as both teams mull over tough selection calls for the decider.
The two teams shook hands at tea on day four of the Shield final preview at the Junction Oval on Tuesday as the game petered out to a rain-affected draw with all attention turning to next week’s decider at the same venue starting on Thursday March 26.
South Australia coach Ryan Harris had been optimistic about Doggett’s chances just a few days ago but tempered expectations on Tuesday.
“Probably unlikely,” Harris said. “He was having to catch up this morning I think with the medicos back home. I haven’t had any contact with them. So we’ll get back tomorrow and assess on Thursday.”
Harris was asked whether the ability to substitute him out of the final under Cricket Australia’s trial rules would give Doggett more chance of playing if he was underdone.
“He’d have to have a scan to make sure it’s healed, and then he’d have to bowl probably two days in a row,” Harris said. “And he’s been bowling. He did feel it, I think, the other day, a little bit. But again, he kept bowling.
“If he’s injured you probably wouldn’t play him. I don’t think I want to go in thinking I’m going to substitute a player in a final halfway through. We’ll give him every possible chance and have a look at it.”
Wes Agar has been managing a back issue but Harris said he is likely to be fit and could play in a premier cricket semi-final in Adelaide on the weekend to push his case for selection.
Harris also took note of the spin on offer at Junction Oval, with Victoria’s Todd Murphy taking four wickets in the first innings while South Australia’s offspinners Nathan McSweeney and Ben Manenti took five between them in their only bowling innings. It may prompt South Australia to consider bringing legspinner Lloyd Pope into the selection mix for the final.
“We’ve already had a discussion about that yesterday, about potentially bringing him down and bringing him in,” Harris said. “We’ve got a big selection meeting on Thursday. I think seeing the conditions that were here, definitely it’s a thought that we probably might bring him. But again, the team at the moment, everyone’s playing pretty well, so it’s hard to leave someone out to bring him in. So we’ll assess all that. Nathan bowled pretty well. He’s another option. I know he goes the same way as Ben Manenti but we’ll talk all that through on Thursday.”
Victoria have a significant selection debate of their own with one of their seamers needing to make way for Fergus O’Neill who was rested from the game this week. Coach Chris Rogers admitted it was likely to be one of Perry or Elliott who misses out.
“I think that that’s fair. I think that those two guys probably know that as well,” Rogers said. “Both have been outstanding this season. I think both have averaged pretty much under 20, at least up until this game. So, yeah, it’s a really, really tough call.
“It was a hard decision before this game. I think it’s going to be a hard decision still. I don’t think it’s clear cut, that’s for sure. So we’ll 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.”
Elliott has taken 33 wickets at 17.18 including three five-wicket hauls while Perry has 32 wickets at 21.75 with two five-wicket hauls. Their averages with the bat are nearly identical, 15.57 for Perry and 14.12 for Elliott, but Perry has a half-century.
Rogers was thrilled to get his side back into a Shield final after Victoria played in two deciders in 2021-22 and 2022-23 against Western Australia in Perth but fell short of winning the trophy both times. He was also hopeful it would be a great stage for his young players to push their case for a Test call-up.
“I’ve heard it forever and a day that a Shield final is close to Test cricket,” Rogers said. “So there’ll be a lot of eyes on the game and I think selectors are always looking at who are the players who can play under pressure. So if someone or a few can put up their hand up in pressure situations, that’ll probably go a little bit to their cause in future selection.
“As a head coach of a state side you desperately want your players to be recognized for the work that they’re doing and the performances they’re putting in. So, yeah, I’d ideally love a number of the Victorian players to be in that Australian side. And we haven’t been represented nearly enough in a long time.”
