Sheffield Shield

Cricket competition in Australia

Sheffield Shield
Countries Australia
AdministratorCricket Australia
FormatFirst-class
First edition1892–93
Latest edition2023–24
Tournament formatDouble round-robin, then final
Number of teams6
Current champion Western Australia (18th title)
Most successful New South Wales (47 titles)
Most runsDarren Lehmann (South Australia and Victoria)
12,971 runs
Most wicketsClarrie Grimmett (Victoria and South Australia)
513 wickets
TVCricket Network
Kayo Sports
Fox Cricket (selected matches)
WebsiteCricket Australia
2023–24 Sheffield Shield season

The Sheffield Shield (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Marsh Sheffield Shield) is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. The Sheffield Shield is named after Lord Sheffield.

Prior to the Shield being established, a number of intercolonial matches were played. The Shield, donated by Lord Sheffield, was first contested during the 1892–93 season, between New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. Queensland was admitted for the 1926–27 season, Western Australia for the 1947–48 season, and Tasmania for the 1977–78 season.

The competition is contested in a double-round-robin format, with each team playing every other team twice, i.e. home and away. Points are awarded based on wins, draws, ties and bonus points for runs and wickets in a team's first 100 batting and bowling overs, with the top two teams playing a final at the end of the season. Regular matches last for four days; the final lasts for five days.

History of Australia cricket

In 1891–92 the Earl of Sheffield was in Australia as the promoter of the English team led by W. G. Grace. The tour included three Tests played in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide.

At the conclusion of the tour, Lord Sheffield donated £150 to the New South Wales Cricket Association to fund a trophy for an annual tournament of intercolonial cricket in Australia. The three colonies of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia were already playing each other in ad hoc matches. The new tournament commenced in the summer of 1892–93, mandating home and away fixtures between each colony each season. The three teams competed for the Sheffield Shield, named after its benefactor. A Polish immigrant, Phillip Blashki,[1] won the competition to design the trophy, a 43 in × 30 in (109 cm × 76 cm) silver shield.

The competition therefore commenced some 15 years after Australia's first Test match.

Sponsorship and name changes

In 1999, the Australian Cricket Board (now Cricket Australia) announced a sponsorship deal which included renaming the Sheffield Shield to the Pura Milk Cup, then to the Pura Cup the following season.[2] Pura is a brand name of National Foods, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bega Cheese. The sponsorship increased total annual prize money to A$220,000, with the winners receiving A$75,000 and the runners up A$45,000.

On 16 July 2008 it was announced that Weet-Bix would take over sponsorship of the competition from the start of the 2008–09 season, and that the name would revert to the "Sheffield Shield" or the "Sheffield Shield presented by Weet-Bix".[3] Weet-bix is a cereal biscuit manufactured by Sanitarium Health Food Company.

In the 2019–20 season, Marsh took over the sponsorship for the competition. This followed Marsh & McLennan Companies' acquisition of JLT, which had sponsored the competition since 2017.

Teams

Since 1977–78, all six states of Australia have fielded their own team. There is no team for any of the territories. Details of each team are set out below.

Team name
Team nickname Home ground/s[a] Inaugural season First title Last title Shield titles Wooden spoons Team captain/s
  New
South
Wales
Blues[b]

Drummoyne Oval
North Dalton Park
Bankstown Oval
Sydney Cricket Ground

1892–93 1895–96 2019–20 47 12 Kurtis Patterson
  Queensland
Bulls[c]

Allan Border Field
Brisbane Cricket Ground

1926–27 1994–95 2020–21 9 24 Usman Khawaja
  South
Australia
Redbacks

Adelaide Oval
Karen Rolton Oval

1892–93 1893–94 1995–96 13 49 Travis Head
  Tasmania
Tigers

Bellerive Oval

1977–78 2006–07 2012–13 3 14 Matthew Wade
  Victoria
Bushrangers[d]

Junction Oval
Melbourne Cricket Ground

1892–93 1892–93 2018–19 32 18 Peter Handscomb
  Western
Australia
Warriors[e]

Perth Stadium
WACA Ground

1947–48 1947-48 2023–24 18 5 Mitchell Marsh
  1. ^ Each team has used several venues to host matches. For a full list, see list of cricket grounds in Australia.
  2. ^ New South Wales was previously known as the "Blues" between 1995 and 2022.
  3. ^ Before 1993, all states were known by their state name or cricket association title. Queensland were the first to adopt a nickname when they became known as the ‘Bulls’ from 1993. Following the success of the ‘Bulls’ name, other states followed suit and in 1995 gave their state team nicknames.
  4. ^ Victoria was previously known as the "Victorian Bushrangers" between 1995 and 2018.[4]
  5. ^ Western Australia was previously known as the "Western Warriors" between 1995 and 2019.[5]

Venues

Below are the venues that will host Sheffield Shield matches during the 2022–23 season.

Adelaide Oval Allan Border Field Blundstone Arena Citi Power Centre
Adelaide, South Australia Brisbane, Queensland Hobart, Tasmania Melbourne, Victoria
Capacity: 53,500 Capacity: 6,500 Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 7,000
Drummoyne Oval The Gabba Karen Rolten Oval Melbourne Cricket Ground
Sydney, New South Wales Brisbane, Queensland Adelaide, South Australia Melbourne, Victoria
Capacity: 5,500 Capacity: 42,000 Capacity: 5,000 Capacity: 100,024
North Dalton Park Sydney Cricket Ground WACA Ground
Wollongong, New South Wales Sydney, New South Wales Perth, Western Australia
Capacity: 5,500 Capacity: 48,000 Capacity: 24,000

Competition format

Each side has played each other both home and away every season with the following exceptions:

  • South Australia had no home game with: Victoria in 1901–02 or 1903–04; either opponent in 1907–08; New South Wales in 1910–11.
  • Queensland and South Australia played only once (in South Australia) in 1926–27.
  • Western Australia played each team only once from their debut in 1946–47 until 1955–56 inclusive.
  • Tasmania played each team only once from their debut in 1977–78 until 1981–82 inclusive.
  • In 2019–20 the season was curtailed after nine rounds due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]
  • The 2020–21 season was heavily affected by COVID-19 lockdowns, with QLD playing 9 games, Tasmania and South Australia 8, and Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria playing 7 each. Unusually for the Sheffield Shield, Victoria and New South Wales played each other 3 times during the home and away portion of the season.

Where the teams played an unequal number of games, their final points were calculated on a pro-rata basis.

Matches were timeless (i.e. played to an outright result, weather and schedule permitting) up to 1926–27. A four-day time limit has applied since 1927–28.[7]

In 1940–41, however, the Sheffield Shield was not contested but ten first-class “friendly” matches were played between the States for patriotic funds;[8] however financially these were unsuccessful.[9]

The Sheffield Shield was not contested during the 1941–42 Australian first-class season - instead an “Interstate Patriotic Competition” was held, with all proceeds gong to the war effort. Only one match was played (Queensland v NSW at the Gabba) before the competition was cancelled due to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7 1941.[10]

Final

Since 1982–83, the top two teams after the home and away rounds have met in a final, played over five days at the home ground of the top-ranked team. Between 1982–83 and 2017–18, in the event of a draw or tie, the Shield was awarded to the top-ranked team.[7] Since the 2018–19 summer, in the event of a draw or tie, the team which scores more first innings bonus points, based on the system used in regular season matches, wins the Shield.[11] No final was played in 2019–20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]

Points system

A number of different systems have been used over the years. Currently, points are awarded for each match during the home and away season according to the following table.

Result Points [13]
An outright win (irrespective of the first innings result) 6
A tie (irrespective of the first innings result) 3
An outright loss (irrespective of the first innings result) 0
Abandoned or drawn matches (irrespective of the first innings result) 1
Bonus batting .01 for every run above 200 in the first 100 overs of the first innings of each team only
Bonus bowling 0.1 for taking each wicket in the first 100 overs of the first innings of each team only
  • Bonus point example – If after 100 overs the score is 8/350, the batting team would receive 1.5 points ([350 − 200] × 0.01), and the bowling side would receive 0.8 points (0.1 for each wicket)
  • Quotient (team's batting average divided by its bowling average) is used to separate teams which finish on an equal number of points.
  • Teams can be penalised points for failing to maintain an adequate over rate.
  • The bonus bowling points were modified for the 2016–17 season. For the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons, the bowling team received 0.5 points for taking the 5th, 7th and 9th wickets (a maximum 1.5 points).

Previous systems

  • The Shield was initially envisaged as a match-by-match challenge trophy; it was originally determined on 4 January 1893 that it would first be awarded to the winner of the next inter-colonial match (which was, in fact, the fourth of the season), and then would pass in perpetuity to any team which defeated the holder of the trophy;[14] But on 30 January, it was decided instead to award the Shield to the team which won the most intercolonial matches across the season.[15]
  • The quotient has been used as a tie-breaker for teams on equal points since 1893–94.
  • First innings points were introduced in 1932–33 and used until 1970–71.[16][17]
  • Bonus points for first innings batting and bowling were used from 1971–72 to 1980–81 inclusive. During the first 100 (eight-ball) overs of each side's first innings, a maximum of 10 batting bonus points could be attained. They were awarded for every 25 runs scored from 175 to 400 inclusive. A maximum of 5 bowling bonus points were available, initially upon capture of the second, fourth, sixth, eighth and last wickets. This was later changed to wickets 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 as batting teams often declared when 9 wickets down to deny the bowling side the additional bonus point.

Competition placings

Prior to the introduction of a Final in 1982–83, the team with most points after the home and away rounds was declared the winner. With the introduction of the Final, the top team hosts the second placed team in a five-day match. Until 2018–19, the visiting team was required to win the Final to win the championship; the home team won the championship in the event of a tied or drawn Final. Since the 2018–19 summer, in the event of a draw or tie, the team which scores more first innings bonus points, based on the system used in regular season matches, wins the Shield. Further details including match scorecards are available at Cricinfo[18] and the Cricket Archive.[19]

1892–93 to 1925–26

Season Winner Second Third
1892–93 Victoria South Australia New South Wales
1893–94 South Australia New South Wales Victoria
1894–95 Victoria South Australia New South Wales
1895–96 New South Wales Victoria South Australia
1896–97 New South Wales South Australia Victoria
1897–98 Victoria South Australia New South Wales
1898–99 Victoria New South Wales South Australia
1899–1900 New South Wales Victoria South Australia
1900–01 Victoria New South Wales South Australia
1901–02 New South Wales Victoria South Australia
1902–03 New South Wales Victoria South Australia
1903–04 New South Wales Victoria South Australia
1904–05 New South Wales Victoria South Australia
1905–06 New South Wales Victoria South Australia
1906–07 New South Wales South Australia Victoria
1907–08 Victoria South Australia New South Wales
1908–09 New South Wales South Australia Victoria
1909–10 South Australia New South Wales Victoria
1910–11 New South Wales South Australia Victoria
1911–12 New South Wales Victoria South Australia
1912–13 South Australia New South Wales Victoria
1913–14 New South Wales South Australia Victoria
1914–15 Victoria New South Wales South Australia
1915–16 Not contested due to World War I
1916–17 Not contested due to World War I
1917–18 Not contested due to World War I
1918–19 Not contested due to World War I
1919–20 New South Wales Victoria South Australia
1920–21 New South Wales Victoria South Australia
1921–22 Victoria New South Wales South Australia
1922–23 New South Wales Victoria South Australia
1923–24 Victoria New South Wales South Australia
1924–25 Victoria New South Wales South Australia
1925–26 New South Wales Victoria South Australia

1926–27 to 1946–47

Season Winner Second Third Fourth
1926–27 South Australia Victoria New South Wales Queensland
1927–28 Victoria South Australia New South Wales Queensland
1928–29 New South Wales Victoria Queensland South Australia
1929–30 Victoria New South Wales South Australia Queensland
1930–31 Victoria New South Wales Queensland South Australia
1931–32 New South Wales South Australia Victoria Queensland
1932–33 New South Wales Victoria South Australia Queensland
1933–34 Victoria New South Wales South Australia Queensland
1934–35 Victoria New South Wales South Australia Queensland
1935–36 South Australia New South Wales Victoria Queensland
1936–37 Victoria South Australia New South Wales Queensland
1937–38 New South Wales South Australia Victoria Queensland
1938–39 South Australia Victoria Queensland New South Wales
1939–40 New South Wales South Australia Victoria Queensland
1940–41 Not contested due to World War II
1941–42 Not contested due to World War II
1942–43 Not contested due to World War II
1943–44 Not contested due to World War II
1944–45 Not contested due to World War II
1945–46 Not contested due to World War II
1946–47 Victoria New South Wales Queensland South Australia

1947–48 to 1976–77

Western Australia team with the 1947–48 Sheffield Shield. The state won the shield despite playing three fewer games than other states with having the better average than their rivals.
Season Winner Second Third Fourth Fifth
1947–48 Western Australia New South Wales South Australia Queensland Victoria
1948–49 New South Wales Victoria South Australia Queensland Western Australia
1949–50 New South Wales Victoria Western Australia Queensland South Australia
1950–51 Victoria New South Wales Western Australia Queensland South Australia
1951–52 New South Wales Victoria Queensland South Australia Western Australia
1952–53 South Australia New South Wales Victoria Western Australia Queensland
1953–54 New South Wales Victoria Queensland South Australia Western Australia
1954–55 New South Wales Victoria Western Australia Queensland South Australia
1955–56 New South Wales Victoria Queensland Western Australia South Australia
1956–57 New South Wales Queensland Victoria Western Australia South Australia
1957–58 New South Wales Victoria Queensland Western Australia South Australia
1958–59 New South Wales Queensland Victoria Western Australia South Australia
1959–60 New South Wales Victoria Western Australia Queensland South Australia
1960–61 New South Wales Victoria Western Australia Queensland South Australia
1961–62 New South Wales Queensland South Australia Victoria Western Australia
1962–63 Victoria South Australia New South Wales Western Australia Queensland
1963–64 South Australia Victoria New South Wales Queensland Western Australia
1964–65 New South Wales Victoria South Australia Western Australia Queensland
1965–66 New South Wales Western Australia South Australia Victoria Queensland
1966–67 Victoria South Australia New South Wales Western Australia Queensland
1967–68 Western Australia Victoria South Australia New South Wales Queensland
1968–69 South Australia Western Australia Queensland Victoria New South Wales
1969–70 Victoria Western Australia New South Wales South Australia Queensland
1970–71 South Australia Victoria Western Australia New South Wales Queensland
1971–72 Western Australia South Australia New South Wales Victoria Queensland
1972–73 Western Australia South Australia New South Wales Victoria Queensland
1973–74 Victoria Queensland New South Wales Western Australia South Australia
1974–75 Western Australia Queensland Victoria New South Wales South Australia
1975–76 South Australia Queensland Western Australia New South Wales Victoria
1976–77 Western Australia Victoria Queensland New South Wales South Australia

1977–78 to present

Season Winner Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth
1977–78 Western Australia Queensland Victoria South Australia New South Wales Tasmania
1978–79 Victoria Western Australia New South Wales Queensland South Australia Tasmania
1979–80 Victoria South Australia New South Wales Queensland Western Australia Tasmania
1980–81 Western Australia New South Wales Queensland Victoria Tasmania South Australia
1981–82 South Australia New South Wales Western Australia Tasmania Queensland Victoria
1982–83 New South Wales Western Australia South Australia Tasmania Queensland Victoria
1983–84 Western Australia Queensland Tasmania New South Wales South Australia Victoria
1984–85 New South Wales Queensland South Australia Western Australia Victoria Tasmania
1985–86 New South Wales Queensland Victoria Western Australia South Australia Tasmania
1986–87 Western Australia Victoria Queensland South Australia New South Wales Tasmania
1987–88 Western Australia Queensland New South Wales Victoria South Australia Tasmania
1988–89 Western Australia South Australia Queensland New South Wales Tasmania Victoria
1989–90 New South Wales Queensland South Australia Tasmania Western Australia Victoria
1990–91 Victoria New South Wales Queensland Western Australia South Australia Tasmania
1991–92 Western Australia New South Wales Victoria Queensland South Australia Tasmania
1992–93 New South Wales Queensland Western Australia South Australia Tasmania Victoria
1993–94 New South Wales Tasmania Western Australia Victoria South Australia Queensland
1994–95 Queensland South Australia Victoria Western Australia New South Wales Tasmania
1995–96 South Australia Western Australia Queensland Tasmania New South Wales Victoria
1996–97 Queensland Western Australia New South Wales Tasmania Victoria South Australia
1997–98 Western Australia Tasmania Queensland New South Wales Victoria South Australia
1998–99 Western Australia Queensland Victoria South Australia Tasmania New South Wales
1999–2000 Queensland Victoria Western Australia South Australia Tasmania New South Wales
2000–01 Queensland Victoria New South Wales Tasmania Western Australia South Australia
2001–02 Queensland Tasmania Western Australia South Australia Victoria New South Wales
2002–03 New South Wales Queensland Victoria South Australia Western Australia Tasmania
2003–04 Victoria Queensland Tasmania Western Australia New South Wales South Australia
2004–05 New South Wales Queensland Western Australia Victoria South Australia Tasmania
2005–06 Queensland Victoria South Australia Tasmania Western Australia New South Wales
2006–07 Tasmania New South Wales Victoria Queensland Western Australia South Australia
2007–08 New South Wales Victoria Western Australia Tasmania South Australia Queensland
2008–09 Victoria Queensland South Australia Tasmania Western Australia New South Wales
2009–10 Victoria Queensland New South Wales Western Australia Tasmania South Australia
2010–11 Tasmania New South Wales Queensland Western Australia Victoria South Australia
2011–12 Queensland Tasmania Victoria Western Australia New South Wales South Australia
2012–13 Tasmania Queensland New South Wales Victoria Western Australia South Australia
2013–14 New South Wales Western Australia South Australia Queensland Tasmania Victoria
2014–15 Victoria Western Australia New South Wales Queensland Tasmania South Australia
2015–16 Victoria South Australia New South Wales Queensland Western Australia Tasmania
2016–17 Victoria South Australia Western Australia New South Wales Queensland Tasmania
2017–18 Queensland Tasmania Victoria Western Australia New South Wales South Australia
2018–19 Victoria New South Wales Western Australia Queensland Tasmania South Australia
2019–20 New South Wales Victoria Queensland Tasmania Western Australia South Australia
2020–21 Queensland New South Wales Western Australia Tasmania Victoria South Australia
2021–22 Western Australia Victoria Tasmania New South Wales Queensland South Australia
2022–23 Western Australia Victoria Queensland South Australia Tasmania New South Wales
2023-24 Western Australia Tasmania New South Wales Victoria South Australia Queensland

Player of the Year

The Player of the Year award is announced at the end of each season.[20] Since its inception in 1976 it has been awarded to the best-performed player/s over the season, as determined a panel of judges. Victorian and South Australian batsman Matthew Elliott has won the award the most times, being awarded Player of the Year on three separate occasions.

Season Winner(s)
1975–76 Ian Chappell (SA), Greg Chappell (Qld)
1976–77 Richie Robinson (Vic)
1977–78 David Ogilvie (Qld)
1978–79 Peter Sleep (SA)
1979–80 Ian Chappell (SA)
1980–81 Greg Chappell (Qld)
1981–82 Kepler Wessels (Qld)
1982–83 Kim Hughes (WA)
1983–84 Brian Davison (Tas), John Dyson (NSW)
1984–85 David Boon (Tas)
1985–86 Allan Border (Qld)
1986–87 Craig McDermott (Qld)
1987–88 Dirk Tazelaar (Qld), Mark Waugh (NSW)
1988–89 Tim May (SA)
1989–90 Mark Waugh (NSW)
1990–91 Stuart Law (Qld)
1991–92 Tony Dodemaide (Vic)
1992–93 Jamie Siddons (SA)
1993–94 Matthew Hayden (Qld)
1994–95 Dean Jones (Vic)
1995–96 Matthew Elliott (Vic)
1996–97 Andy Bichel (Qld)
1997–98 Dene Hills (Tas)
1998–99 Matthew Elliott (Vic)
1999–2000 Darren Lehmann (SA)
2000–01 Jamie Cox (Tas)
2001–02 Brad Hodge (Vic), Jimmy Maher (Qld)
2002–03 Clinton Perren (Qld)
2003–04 Matthew Elliott (Vic)
2004–05 Michael Bevan (Tas)
2005–06 Andy Bichel (Qld)
2006–07 Chris Rogers (WA)
2007–08 Simon Katich (NSW)
2008–09 Phillip Hughes (NSW)
2009–10 Chris Hartley (Qld)
2010–11 James Hopes (Qld)
2011–12 Jackson Bird (Tas)
2012–13 Ricky Ponting (Tas)
2013–14 Marcus North (WA)
2014–15 Adam Voges (WA)
2015–16 Travis Head (SA)
2016–17 Chadd Sayers (SA)
2017–18 Chris Tremain (Vic)
2018–19 Scott Boland (Vic)
2019–20 Moises Henriques (NSW), Nic Maddinson (Vic)
2020–21 Nathan Lyon (NSW)
2021–22 Henry Hunt (SA), Travis Dean (Vic)
2022–23 Michael Neser (Qld)
2023–24 Beau Webster (Tas)

Records

Individual records

Most matches played

Rank Matches Player Period
1 161 Jamie Cox (Tas) 1987–88 to 2005–06
2 159 John Inverarity (WA/SA) 1962–63 to 1984–85
3 147 Darren Lehmann (SA/Vic) 1987–88 to 2007–08
4 146 Jamie Siddons (SA/Vic) 1985 to 2000
5 142 Stuart Law (QLD) 1988 to 2004
Source: [1]. Last updated: 26 March 2018.

Players representing three states

Player Career States Matches
Graeme Watson 1964–65 to 1976–77 NSW, Vic, WA 60
Gary Cosier 1971–72 to 1980–81 Vic, SA, Qld 46
Trevor Chappell 1972–73 to 1984–85 NSW, SA, WA 63
Rod McCurdy 1980–81 to 1984–85 SA, Tas, Vic 33
Dirk Wellham 1980–81 to 1991–92 NSW, Qld, Tas 99
Colin Miller 1985–86 to 2001–02 Vic, SA, Tas 84
Michael Bevan 1989–90 to 2006–07 SA, NSW, Tas 118
Shane Watson 2000–01 to 2015–16 Tas, Qld, NSW 81
Shane Jurgensen 1999–2000 to 2006–07 WA, Tas, Qld 23
Aiden Blizzard 2007–08 to 2012–13 Vic, SA, Tas 21
Michael Klinger 1998–99 to 2018–19 Vic, SA, WA 122
Gurinder Sandhu 2012–13 to 2021–22 NSW, Tas, Qld 33
Source: A Century of Summers: 100 years of Sheffield Shield cricket, Geoff Armstrong, p. 278. Last updated: 30 Nov 2008.

Six other players have represented three Australian states in top-level cricket, but without playing Sheffield Shield games for all three – Neil Hawke (SA, Tas, WA); Walter McDonald (Qld, Tas, Vic); Percy McDonnell (NSW, Qld, Vic); Karl Quist (NSW, SA, WA); Greg Rowell (NSW, Qld, Tas); Wal Walmsley (NSW, Qld, Tas), Dan Christian (NSW, SA, Vic).

Team records

Team results

Rank Team Entered Matches Won Lost Drawn Tied % Won
1  New South Wales 1892–93 900 378 257 264 1 42
2  Victoria 1892–93 896 347 253 295 1 38.72
3  Western Australia 1947–48 665 237 205 223 0 35.63
4  Queensland 1926–27 786 250 269 266 1 31.8
5  South Australia 1892–93 885 241 406 237 1 27.23
6  Tasmania 1977–78 438 109 172 157 0 24.88
Source: [2]. Last updated: 26 March 2023.

Highest team totals

Rank Total Team Opponent Venue Season
1 1107  Victoria  New South Wales Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne 1926–27
2 918  New South Wales  South Australia Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 1900–01
3 900/6d  Queensland  Victoria Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane 2005–06
4 821/7d  South Australia  Queensland Adelaide Oval, Adelaide 1939–40
5 815  New South Wales  Victoria Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 1908–09
Source: [3]. Last updated: 31 March 2019.

Lowest team totals

Rank Total Team Opponent Venue Season
1 27  South Australia  New South Wales Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 1955–56
2 29  South Australia  New South Wales Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 2004–05
3 31  Victoria  New South Wales Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne 1906–07
4 32  New South Wales  Tasmania Bellerive Oval, Hobart 2020–21
5 35  Victoria  New South Wales Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 1926–27
Source: [4]. Last updated: 31 March 2019.

Batting records

Highest individual scores

Rank Runs Player Match Venue Season
1 452* Don Bradman (NSW) New South Wales v Queensland Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 1929–30
2 437 Bill Ponsford (Vic) Victoria v Queensland Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne 1927–28
3 365* Clem Hill (SA) South Australia v New South Wales Adelaide Oval, Adelaide 1900–01
4 359 Bob Simpson (NSW) New South Wales v Queensland Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane 1963–64
5 357 Don Bradman (SA) South Australia v Victoria Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne 1935–36
Source: [5]. Last updated: 31 March 2019.

Most career runs

Rank Runs Player Career
1 13,635 (266 inns.) Darren Lehmann (SA/Vic) 1987–88 to 2007–08
2 10,821 (295 inns.) Jamie Cox (Tas) 1987–88 to 2005–06
3 10,643 (259 inns.) Jamie Siddons (Vic/SA) 1984–85 to 1999–2000
4 10,621 (211 inns.) Michael Bevan (SA/NSW/Tas) 1989–90 to 2006–07
5 10,474 (254 inns.) Brad Hodge (Vic) 1993–94 to 2009–10
Source: [6]. Last updated: 25 March 2015.

Most runs in a season

Rank Runs Player Average Season
1 1,506 (17 inns.) Simon Katich (NSW) 94.12 2007–08
2 1,464 (18 inns.) Michael Bevan (Tas) 97.60 2004–05
3 1,381 (20 inns.) Matthew Elliott (Vic) 81.23 2003–04
4 1,358 (20 inns.) Adam Voges (WA) 104.46 2014–15
5 1,254 (18 inns.) Graham Yallop (Vic) 69.66 1982–83
Source: [7]. Last updated: 31 March 2019.

Highest batting averages

Rank Average Player Career
1 110.19 (96 inns.) Don Bradman (NSW/SA) 1927–28 to 1948–49
2 100.09 (12 inns.) Barry Richards (SA) 1970–71
3 83.27 (70 inns.) Bill Ponsford (Vic) 1920–21 to 1933–34
4 70.88 (95 inns.) Alan Kippax (NSW) 1918–19 to 1935–36
5 68.00 (81 inns.) Monty Noble (NSW) 1893–94 to 1919–20
6 67.03 (64 inns.) Bill Woodfull (Vic) 1921–22 to 1933–34
Qualification: 10 innings.

Source: [8]. Last updated: 26 January 2020.

Most centuries

Rank Centuries Player Matches
1 45 Darren Lehmann (SA/Vic) 147
2 42 Michael Bevan (SA/NSW/Tas) 118
3 36 Don Bradman (NSW/SA) 62
4 33 Chris Rogers (WA/Vic) 120
5 32 Matthew Elliott (Vic/SA) 122
Source: [9]. Last updated: 25 March 2015.

Bowling records

Most career wickets

Rank Wickets Player Matches Average
1 513 Clarrie Grimmett (Vic/SA) 79 25.29
2 441 Michael Kasprowicz (Qld) 101 24.56
3 430 Andy Bichel (Qld) 89 23.24
4 419 Jo Angel (WA) 105 24.86
5 384 Terry Alderman (WA) 97 24.21
Source: [10]. Last updated: 22 March 2012.

Most wickets in a season

Rank Wickets Player Matches Season
1 67 Colin Miller (Tas) 11 1997–98
2 65 Shaun Tait (SA) 10 2004–05
3 62 Chadd Sayers (SA) 11 2016–17
4 60 Chuck Fleetwood-Smith (Vic) 6 1934–35
5 60 Andy Bichel (Qld) 11 2004–05
6 60 Ben Hilfenhaus (Tas) 11 2006–07
Source: [11]. Last updated: 31 March 2019.

Best career average

Rank Average Player Balls Wickets
1 17.10 Bill O'Reilly (NSW) 10,740 203
2 17.74 Joel Garner (SA) 2,419 55
3 17.87 Geff Noblet (SA) 11,156 190
4 18.09 Pat Crawford (NSW) 2,517 61
5 19.08 Charles Turner (NSW) 3,920 73
Qualification: 2000 balls bowled.

Source: [12]. Last updated: 31 March 2019.

Hat-tricks

Many bowlers have taken a hat-trick in the Sheffield Shield. Mitchell Starc is the only bowler to take two hat-tricks in a Sheffield Shield match. In round two of the 2017–18 competition, Starc became the first bowler to take a hat-trick in each innings of a first-class cricket match in Australia.[21] He became the second Australian, and the eighth bowler overall, to take a two hat-tricks in each innings of a first-class match.[22] In a match from 4–7 November 2017, New South Wales played against Western Australia at Hurstville Oval. In Western Australia's first innings, Starc dismissed Jason Behrendorff, David Moody and Simon Mackin in consecutive deliveries;[23] in the second innings he dismissed Behrendorff, Moody and Jonathan Wells in consecutive deliveries.

Wicket-keeping records

Most dismissals

Rank Dismissals Player Matches
1 546 (499 c. 47 st.) Darren Berry (SA/Vic) 139
2 545 (530 c. 15 st.) Chris Hartley (Qld) 128
3 488 (474 c. 14 st.) Wade Seccombe (Qld) 101
4 350 (322 c. 28 st.) Tim Zoehrer (WA) 107
5 343 (310 c. 33 st.) Rod Marsh (WA) 86
Source: [13]. Last updated: 26 January 2020.

Most dismissals in a season

Rank Dismissals Player Season
1 59 (57 c. 2 st.) Alex Carey (SA) 2016–17
2 58 (57 c. 1 st.) Wade Seccombe (Qld) 2000–01
3 58 (56 c. 2 st.) Chris Hartley (Qld) 2011–12
4 57 (57 c. 0 st.) Matthew Wade (Vic) 2008–09
5 54 (52 c. 2 st.) Wade Seccombe (Qld) 1995–96
6 54 (52 c. 2 st.) Adam Gilchrist (WA) 1996–97
7 54 (52 c. 2 st.) Darren Berry (Vic) 1999–2000
8 54 (50 c. 4 st.) Adam Gilchrist (WA) 1995–96
9 54 (52 c. 2 st.) Chris Hartley (Qld) 2008–09
10 54 (54 c. 0 st.) Wade Seccombe (Qld) 1999–2000
Source: [14]. Last updated: 26 January 2020.

See also

  • Cricket portal

Further reading

  • The History of the Sheffield Shield, Chris Harte
  • A Century of Summers: 100 years of Sheffield Shield cricket, Geoff Armstrong
  • A History of Australian Cricket 1993, Chris Harte

References

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