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Shield final cut from television schedule..
Daniel Brettig
March 12, 2012
Australian domestic cricket's honorary "Test match", the Sheffield Shield final, will not be broadcast on television for the first time since 2007, due to cramped scheduling and the drain of resources created by the Twenty20 Big Bash League.
Due to be fought between Queensland and Tasmania over five days from Friday, the competition decider has been jettisoned from the pay television broadcaster Fox Sports' schedule as it juggles a vast array of football codes and the start of Australia's ODI series in the West Indies.
The logjam of matches is so intense that there was not even room for the final to be squeezed in via digital multi-channelling option, which had already been reserved for other clashing sports.
Tasmania's Shield title defence will not be shown on Australian television © Getty Images
While the schedule cram is a primary reason for the final's absence from television screens, the extra production costs of the BBL, expanded from six states to eight city-based teams this summer, is also understood to be a significant factor in Fox Sports' decision.
"More cricket was broadcast over the summer for the BBL and that chewed up a number of outside broadcasts," a spokesman for Fox Sports told ESPNcricinfo.
Instead of television coverage, the final will be webcast by Fox Sports, with two cameras to provide pictures from the Gabba while Brendon Julian and Mark Waugh anchor the coverage and provide commentary from the studio.
"It's a reasonable compromise, the match won't be on TV sets but the webcast means it will be open to all viewers, not just Fox subscribers," the spokesman said.
The Shield final has had a chequered history as a television product, broadcast at various times by Channel Nine, the defunct Optus Vision pay television network and Fox Sports since 2008. Its status as the most important domestic match of the summer has been enhanced by the broadcasts, with most players recognising the chance to place their name in lights by performing in a broadcast fixture.
In 2008, Phillip Hughes, Beau Casson and Peter Siddle all pushed ahead on the queue for Test places by performing strongly in the New South Wales versus Victoria final at the SCG, and all would earn a Baggy Green cap over the following 12 months. Last year the opening batsman Ed Cowan and teenaged fast bowler Pat Cummins both put in noteworthy final displays and were representing Australia before 2011 was out.
Shield matches have been webcast by Cricket Australia and the state associations over the past two summers, though at the Gabba Queensland Cricket had cut a budgetary corner at the start of the season - in order to make more room for the Brisbane Heat BBL team - by removing their internal broadcast cameras for Shield games.
Daniel Brettig is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo.
As the Sheffield Shield season draws to a close we check out all the key statistics from 2011/12..
By staff writers FOX SPORTS March 15, 2012 4:21PM
Solid ... Ed Cowan will want to set a good platform for Tasmania. Source: Nikki Davis-Jones / News Limited
A thrilling Sheffield Shield season comes to its climax this weekend and as Queensland and Tasmania fine tune their preparations for Friday's final, Foxsports.com.au takes a look at some of the amazing numbers chalked up throughout the summer.
While there's been plenty of negative talk about the direction Australia's Test breeding ground is going, it's hard to argue with some of the performances put up by the country's emerging talent.
Triple-centuries and 10-wicket-hauls are hard to come by at any level of the game but with several individuals putting up big numbers throughout the summer, there's reason to believe the nursery of the game is still making a significant contribution.
By the numbers
2 Number of 10-wicket-hauls in a match (both by Jackson Bird)
7 Most number of ducks (by Peter George)
7/24 Best bowling figures in an innings (by Alister McDermott against WA at the Gabba)
8 Most number of scores of 50 and over (by Rob Quiney)
11/95 Best bowling figures in a match (by Jackson Bird against WA at the Blundstone Arena)
18 Most number of catches (by Adam Voges)
45 Number of centuries scored
48 Most number of wickets taken (by Jackson Bird)
56 Most number of dismissals (by Chris Hartley)
103 Most number of maiden overs bowled (by Michael Hogan)
139 Number of players to play a Sheffield Shield game this season
303* - Highest individual score (by Liam Davis against NSW at the WACA Ground)
379 Highest partnership (Liam Davis & Adam Voges against NSW at the WACA Ground)
387.3 Most number of overs bowled (by Michael Hogan)
3/560 dec. Highest innings total (by WA against NSW at the WACA Ground)
938 Most number of runs scored (by Rob Quiney)
1388 Most number of runs scored in a match (VIC v QLD at the MCG)
Will we see more big numbers in the final?
Neither the Bulls or the Tigers were guaranteed a spot in the decider as the final round got under way, but with both sides boasting clutch performers, they willed their way to the domestic scene's biggest stage with some huge performances.
While Ricky Ponting, Ed Cowan and Ryan Harris have strolled into their respective sides to take star billing, their support cast is studded with emerging talent that have made their mark in this year's competition.
And in a game driven by statistics, it's easy to get a picture of just who has put their hand up to put in a matchwinning performance in the final.
Of the leather-flingers, Tasmania's Jackson Bird and Queensland's Ben Cutting have had particularly good seasons with Bird finishing atop the list of wicket-takers with 48 at a mean average of 15.75 while Cutting's 36 at 18.75 were enough to get him a spot in the Test squad for the home series against the Black Caps.
But with Cutting failing to get his body up for a tilt at the final, the Bulls will be looking for someone to step up to provide Harris with the help he needs to counter Tasmania's excellent batting line-up.
Head-to-head
Fittingly splitting Queensland and Tasmania over the course of the season is like splitting hairs.
While Queensland drew first blood with a big innings win at the Gabba, the Tigers hit back at Blundstone Arena with an eight wicket victory last month.
