Negative cricket from SA playing out the draw. Sad!Oh, yeah; Victoria won the Shield with a drawn final.
So perhaps if the Vics happen to host it again next year, it'll be in Vic.The redevelopment of the venue, expected to be completed in time for the 2017–18 cricket season, will incorporate several new features:[7]
A boutique-sized alternate first-class venue with a capacity of up to 7000;
A National Centre for Diversity through Cricket incorporating the 'Harmony in Cricket' community hub;
On-site self-contained accommodation for visiting teams, coaches, administrators, officials and volunteers;
High quality training, medical and rehabilitation facilities;
An administrative home for Cricket Victoria's various activities;
A home for the Sport Education and Development Australia Cricket Program;
Improved oval irrigation and drainage;
An extensive turf training area;
A 10-lane indoor training centre; and
if?After writing that, I just had a look at the Junction Oval's Wiki site and saw...
So perhaps if the Vics happen to host it again next year, it'll be in Vic.
Nah have to have the final. Having any tournament without a decisive final is stupid. The number of draws in Shield finals is actually quite low in the last couple of decades.A final doesn't work in long-form cricket because you can't take the draw out of the equation. They need to scrap it.
Not sure about that, but I don't hate the idea tbhI think it'd be interesting to allow the final to be decided by first innings lead (still play two innings, but declare first innings leader the winner if the match is drawn). You'd still get a team playing for a draw sometimes, but never right from the start, and much less often in general.
I don’t have a particular dog in this fight but I think that argument could go both ways. Yes, this year the battle was for second but it could be for first another year and make the last round very exciting, as happened in the county championship in England in 2016.If the final is done away with it also removes the interest in the final rounds of the season where there is a battle to make the final.
This year 5 of the 6 teams could make the final at the start of the last round and the second finalist was not known until the second last over of the last day of the season.
The final was a contest till after tea on the fourth day, btw how many test matches are still a contest at that point.
No final and the last round had no relevance to winning the shield.
People who don't understand that draws can be very competitive and interesting games (apart from obviously not watching soccer) probably aren't really interested in cricket.
The current final system is not the perfect way to end the season, (playing the final to a finish is the best way), but it is best of the alternatives.
It has been an interesting and competitive season and to denigrate that by complaining that the final was a draw is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
Imho
It's not a terrible idea, and it's the way most local 2+ day comps decide winners, but you'd still rather a FC comp be played as close to test conditions as possible.I think it'd be interesting to allow the final to be decided by first innings lead (still play two innings, but declare first innings leader the winner if the match is drawn). You'd still get a team playing for a draw sometimes, but never right from the start, and much less often in general.
So you're not advocating the abolishment of the final, you're advocating that a draw shouldn't give the title to the home team? Then what you just play a timeless match? You don't think that could get boring?I don’t have a particular dog in this fight but I think that argument could go both ways. Yes, this year the battle was for second but it could be for first another year and make the last round very exciting, as happened in the county championship in England in 2016.
Regards the draw, my issue is not with the draw as an outcome to a match but that one team has less incentive to contest for the win from the start. You’re not starting from a baseline of zero and I think in ‘grand’ finals that should always be the case. Look at other finals, e.g. Champions League. Away goals count up until the final and then it doesn’t matter how you got there. It’s game on, best on the day wins.
There's still danger in playing for the draw, and you still have to be a good enough team to bat for a long period of time.You still need to stop the no 1 team playing for a draw early though.