TOPIC:

Never been in a better position to win a Sheild Final in over 20 years. I seem to recall a Shield Final vs Vic many years ago that couldn't be played in Vic for some reason and they chose Tassie as a neutral venue and it was a dull and boring draw which meant Vic win the Shield having finished top.

What are the rules these days? I think they should have to play in the final untill they achieve a result. Good luck to the WA boys, hopefully they can pull it off. Never been in a better position to win it. How long has it been? 20. 25 years? Tempted to go.

WA making a good fist of it at the moment with 0 for 170. Bangers and Whitey going along nicely. I'm working from home so have it on Fox in the background. Just need a few tinnie's and the day would be going along nicely.

Great first day by the Warriors although it would have been perfect had they not lost Cartwright in the final over. The first ten overs today will be very important because 1st innings bonus points are still live till the 100th over. WA will get 0.01 for every run they score and the Vics will get 0.1 for a wicket, so for WA its all about wicket preservation in these 10 overs. At the moment WA lead 0.9 to 0.3.
This is crucial because if the final is a draw then the shield will be given to the team that has the highest 1st innings bonus points.  With the forecast of rain on Sunday and a seemingly flat batting track the final could come down to this so WA need to make sure they keep in front. Once they reach the 100 over mark, bonus points no longer apply but I imagine WA would ideally be looking for a  score in the vicinity of 450, then unleash their bowlers on the Vics sometime between lunch and tea.

WA have fallen in their customary heap this morning, having lost 5/20 since Cartwright's silly dismissal on the second last ball last night at a ball he should have left well outside off stump.
I said to myself at the time that could end up being very costly and thus it has proven so this morning and may well be the turning point in the Shield Final.
Sutherland & Boland have done the damage with the second new ball which is moving around with the humid, cloudy conditions in Perth today.

Shaking my head at what has happened this morning. The Vics have bowled very well but nobody has taken any initiative and they are now completely stuck to the crease. They tried to play it safe and it backfired. Phillipe was just a wicket waiting to happen whereas if he had played his natural game he might have got some away and given the innings some momentum That hour may well cost WA the Shield unless the bowlers can run through Victoria when they bat. Very disappointing.

I wish someone would spare me the bias Foxtel commentary

ArkRoyal wrote:

I wish someone would spare me the bias Foxtel commentary

I just made mention of that same point AR.
Fark me the Eastern States are full of biased numptys!

BH -- yes mate, only Border is unbias

I think bonus points will be irrelevant as the pitch is doing enough for there to be a result in this game even if we get rain on Sunday. It will now come down to whether the WA bowlers can replicate what the Vics have done today.

ArkRoyal wrote:

BH -- yes mate, only Border is unbias

Fancy having a commentary of a Shield Final from a studio in Sydney.
Absolutely appalling stuff from Fox & once again treating WA with contempt.
They could have had dozens of ex West Australian players both capable and available to call this game LIVE from the venue at the WACA!