The Sheffield Shield is the domestic first class cricket competition in Australia.
Each of the six state teams play in a round-robin series of home and away 4-day matches against every other team. Teams are awarded points based on the results of the match, and after each pair of teams have played each other twice, the highest ranked two teams play a 5-day final.
The final is played at the home ground of the team that finished on top of the table at the end of the regular season matches. In the case of a draw the season's champion is the home team and the competition winner.
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 matches 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 x 30 inch silver shield.
The competition therefore commenced some 15 years after Australia's first Test match.
Sponsorship and name change
In 1999, the Australian Cricket Board (now Cricket Australia) announced a 4 year 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 the Philippines based San Miguel Corporation. 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.
Although the competition had previously been running with losses of several million dollars per annum, cricket traditionalists protested strongly, arguing against the encroaching wave of commercialism damaging the competition that had been running for over 100 years. The competition continued to be referred to by some fans as the "Shield" as force of habit, a subtle protest, or simply to differentiate it from the one-day domestic competition.
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 it would be renamed the "Sheffield Shield" or the "Sheffield Shield presented by Weet-Bix".[3] Weet-bix is a cereal biscuit manufactured by Sanitarium Health Food Company.
Home grounds are the main (ie Test) venues used for home games; other venues are also used by some teams.
Competiton Format
Each side has played each other both home and away each season with the following exceptions:
SA and Vic played only once in 1901/02.
Qld and SA played only once in 1926/27.
WA played each team only once from their debut in 1946/47 until 1955/56 inclusive.
Tas played each team only once from their debut in 1977/78 until 1981/82 inclusive.
Where the teams played an unequal number of games, their final points were calculated on a pro-rata basis.
Matches were timeless (ie played to an outright result, weather and schedule permitting) up to 1926/27. A 4-day time limit has applied since 1927/28.
Since 1982/83, the top two teams after the 10 home and away rounds have met in a final. The team with the most points hosts the final against the scond ranked team. The match is played at the home ground of the top ranked team, and they only needs to draw that match to win the title.
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
A win (irrespective of the first innings result)
6
A tie (irrespective of the first innings result)
3
A first innings lead in a drawn or lost match
2
A first innings tie in a drawn or lost match
1
A loss on the first innings
0
An outright loss after being behind on the first innings
0
Abandoned or drawn matches with no first innings result
0
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.
Previous Systems
The original format was a non-sensical challenge system [4] which would have meant that the winner of the last game of the season won the Shield, regardless of other results. The folly of such a system was soon identified and it was changed to a most-wins formula prior to the conclusion of the first season.
First innings points were introduced in 1932/33.
Bonus points for first inning batting and bowling were used from 1971/72 to 1980/81 inclusive.
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. The visiting team must win the Final to win the championship; the home team wins the championship in the event of a tied or drawn Final. Further details including match scorecards are available at Cricinfo[5] and the Cricket Archive[6].
The Player of the Year award is announced at the end of each season[7]. 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 3 separate occasions.
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