SNAPSHOT OF THE SHEFFIELD SHIELD FINAL
Result: Western Australia (315, 1-93) def Victoria (195, 210) by nine wickets at the WACA Ground.
Summary: Another domestic triumph for Western Australia, who secured a history-making "six-peat" of consecutive Sheffield Shield, one-day cup and Big Bash titles. The hosts sent Victoria in to bat, restricting them to 195. WA fell to 4-53 in response before Ashton Turner (128) steered his side to a 120-run first-innings lead. Will Sutherland's rearguard 83 after an early collapse for Victoria gave WA something to chase. But the target of 91 was never going to be enough and WA claimed victory before tea on day four.
Key moment: Teague Wyllie's superb catch diving forward at midwicket to dislodge Campbell Kellaway off the bowling of Matt Kelly brought about a second-innings Victoria collapse on day three. Joel Paris and Lance Morris also snared wickets and the visitors had lost 4-10 by the time skipper Peter Handscomb departed on 52, leaving a hobbled Sutherland as the only full-time batter at their disposal.
Man of the match: Ashton Turner. The white-ball star hadn't played a first-class game since October 2020 before earning a recall for last week's clash between the two sides. He rewarded selectors with his first Shield hundred since November 2017, pacing his innings to perfection. His 86-run stand with Aaron Hardie (45) on day two turned the game after WA's shaky start.
Stat of the match: Ash Chandrasinghe's first-innings vigil, carrying his bat and scoring 46 from 280 balls in almost seven hours at the crease, wasn't just a modern anomaly. According to statistician Ric Finlay, it was the slowest 46 in Shield history. The 21-year-old Victoria opener added just five runs in the middle session on day one but earned praise from his teammates for his determination.
Quote of the match: "There's definitely stages where I thought that my red-ball career had passed me by. I sat and watched us win the Shield last year and couldn't poke many holes in that side." - Turner feared his dreams of winning a Shield title were over before his match-winning knock in just his second game since October 2020.