Sheffield Shield final - Victoria v. WA in Hobart.

[Donny]

Yes. Any overs WA bats on will be in Victoria's favour.

[Pies4shaw]

So, WA batted on for a further 6 overs this morning and declared at 2/293 (Harris making a fine 158 not out from 153 balls), setting the Vics the task of making 334 to win, or batting out about 90 overs to draw. Either will win the Vics the Shield. They are presently 1/54 from 29 overs, obviously batting for the draw. Rogers was out for 17. Quiney is 35 and Stoinis is 1.

Unless wickets start to tumble, this will be like watching paint dry. As a Victorian, I will be hoping for a very tedious afternoon's cricket.

[Pies4shaw]

Vics now 2/79, after 42.4 overs. Stoinis out for 8 from 41 balls. Quiney is 48 and D Hussey is 3. A minimum of 47.2 overs remain to be bowled.

[Pies4shaw]

The Vics are 3/108 at tea (Quniey gone for 53; Hussey and Handscomb now at the crease). The equation is simple: don't lose more than 6 wickets in the remaining 30 or so overs and the boys can bring the Shield back to Victoria.

[Pies4shaw]

Vics now 4/147 after 87 overs. Minimum 8.3 overs to go.

Wade is 7 off 73 deliveries; David Hussey is 33 off 149.

[Pies4shaw]

Vics 4/158 after 95 exciting overs. Wade now 9 off 99 balls.

Remind me, was it Mudassar Nazar who thrilled us with the slowest century of all time in a Test in Australia back in the late 70s?

[Pies4shaw]

And there it is. The Vics have drawn and thereby won the 2014/2015 Sheffield Shield. Congratulations to them - and may they never be forced to watch a replay of the whole of their second innings!

[Donny]

Why not ?? It was a Sheffield Shield winning effort.

Thanks Pies4. I just got back from Cairns and went straight to Nick's Sports Bar.

Congrats to Greg Shipperd, Matt Wade and the rest of the Bushrangers.

As I mentioned earlier, APPALLING coverage of this match in the media.

[Donny]

Oh, another point: Marcus Harris for player of the final when Fawad Ahmed returned the best bowling figures ever, in a Shield final ?!?

[ronrat]

[Pies4shaw]

[Pies4shaw]

[ronrat]

Yes Hibbert was the sloth. Thanks for that.

[Pies4shaw]

^^^ I think it was probably a measure of his determination. He saw a chance to play Test cricket for Australia and took it. Unfortunately, he only got the one game (13 and 2 in the 'Gabba test on a greentop wicket).

"Dasher" Hibbert was one of those fine household names of Sheffield Shield cricket, in a time when Shield games would often be the main focus of the sports section of the major newspapers. Along with Julian Wiener, he was a fixture as Victoria's opening batsmen (and, IIRC, sometime number 3) for over a decade. I used to watch Victoria a lot back in those days and, although he was generally a slowish batsman, he was the steady player who made a lot of others' stroke-play possible. The Vics won back to back Shields in 78/79 and 79/80 with a line up that regularly featured, among others, Hibbert, Wiener, Yallop, Whatmore, Moss, Taylor, Robinson, Laughlin, Graf, Callen and Hurst. Great names from a great sporting era.

I loved watching those teams play, back in the days when I wasn't almost the only person watching in the stadium, - the Vics were my passion when Collingwood wasn't playing - and I was very sorry to read of Paul's passing in late 2008.

[ronrat]

Shaun Graf played for Caulfield 4ths a few years ago as a fill in player and took a heap of wickets and top scored. He still is involved.

Yallop ran the indoor cricket centre at Albert Park years ago when Defence had a lunchtime comp. I was umpiring. Bloke had his bat on the line and the bowler mankaded him. I gave him out. The batsman abused me and used some very nasty words. I simply told him he was out and get on with it. . He insisted he was on the line. I said "On the line is out" "No it isn't you effing idiot". At this stage Yallop walked over and told the bloke he would be ejected from the centre for bad language and poor spotsmanship. Kids are waiting to play and can hear all this. Yallop then came up with "anyway I was watching. On the line is out, always has been" Then this pearler "Who the eff put someone in charge of a cricket centre who has never played the game and doesn't know the rules'. Player ejected to laughter from everyone including his own teammates. The bowler was in stitches. "Captaining his country generally qualifies as some one who has played the game you clown".