Sheffield Shield
Sheffield Shield: Teams participating in the tournament
Queensland Bulls
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Sheffield Shield: Facts and Records
Sheffield Shield is named after Lord Sheffield.
The Sheffield Shield currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Marsh Sheffield Shield.
The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia.
The competition is contested in a double-round robin format, with each team playing every other team twice, i.e. home and away.
Sheffield Shield: domestic tournament of First-Class cricket in Australia
Australia is a country where cricket has gained huge popularity. Tournaments are regularly held in the country, attracting millions of viewers. The main cricket championship in the country is the Sheffield Shield. It has an extensive history that has lasted for more than 130 years. At one time, it was a great honor for the Australian national teams to be among the tournament participants. Now all the major Australian teams take part in these competitions.
Sheffield Shield: all the information about Australia’s main cricket tournament
Australia is a country where cricket has gained huge popularity. Tournaments are regularly held in the country, attracting millions of viewers. The main cricket championship in the country is the Sheffield Shield. It has an extensive history that has lasted for more than 130 years. At one time, it was a great honor for the Australian national teams to be among the tournament participants. Now all the major Australian teams take part in these competitions.
The Sheffield Shield is held in the format of a double round-robin tournament (teams play matches at home and away). Then – the final between the two best rivals. Currently, the record holder for the number of trophies in this championship is the NSW team (as of 2021 – 47 titles of the winner).
In our review of the Sheffield Shield championship, you will learn not only its history and get information about the current state of affairs, but also broaden your horizons with information about the founder of the tournament – Henry Holroyd. But about everything in order.
Sheffield Shield: A brief history of the Australian Cricket Championship
As you know, cricket was played in Australia even before the foundation of the main tournament. Since the 1850s, small competitions were held between the colonies, and only then the matches grew into something more.
The first championship under the auspices of the Sheffield Shield was held in the 1892-1893 season. At that time, the Australian earl Henry Holroyd was very concerned that cricket standards in Australia were falling rapidly, and something had to be done about it. Then he initiated the creation of a new championship, which later became known as the Sheffield Shield. But about the count himself and his contribution to cricket Australia – a little later.
The first Sheffield Shield tournament included three tests, which were held in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. Then three teams took part in the competition: New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Later, other teams joined them in 1926 – Queensland Bulls, in 1947 – Western Warriors, in 1977 – Tasmanian Tigers. The teams compete for the main trophy of the tournament – the Sheffield Shield, which has a similar name to the championship. This shield was designed by the Polish emigrant Phillip Blashki.
Since its foundation, the Sheffield Shield tournament has not been held only on two occasions: from 1915 to 1919 (due to the First World War, the championship was resumed only in the 1919 – 1920 season), and from 1940 to 1946 (due to the Second World War, the tournament was resumed in the 1946 – 1947 season). There was also a risk that the Sheffield Shield would not take place in the 2019 – 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the organizers limited themselves to applying security measures, as well as canceling the final.
During its history, the Sheffield Shield has undergone several name changes. This is connected, of course, with sponsorship. So, in 1999, the Australian Cricket Association announced a sponsorship agreement with the Pura trademark, in connection with which the championship was renamed the Pura Milk Cup and then the Pura Cup.
The tournament will return to its usual name in 2008 when Weet-Bix becomes the sponsor of the competition. Then Weet-Bix was simply added to the Sheffield Shield.
The next renaming took place in the 2019 – 2020 season when the Marsh company became the tournament’s sponsor. From then to the present, the full name of the tournament sounds like the Marsh Sheffield Shield.
Since the summer of 2018, the championship has undergone some more changes: it concerns the final games. If earlier, with a tied score, the main prize went to the team that took the first place at the end of the entire tournament, now the bonus points of the first innings are counted: whoever scores more – wins.
Who is Henry Holroyd, founder of Sheffield Shield
The main contribution to cricket development in Australia was made by the third Earl of Sheffield, Henry Holroyd – the man who organized the Sheffield Shield championship. He is called the patron saint of Australian cricket, and the tournament itself was named in his honor.
Henry Holroyd was born in London on January 18, 1832. He became interested in cricket from a young age, even managing to play one first-class match. Henry Holroyd began investing in cricket with the construction of a private stadium in Sheffield Park near the city of Uckfield (England), where many matches were held, including against touring teams from abroad.
At some time, there came a moment in the history of Australian cricket when it sharply declined, including at the professional level. Then Henry Holroyd decided to create and finance a new championship – the Sheffield Shield. While in Australia, he donated 150 pounds to the New South Wales Cricket Association, which was spent on organizing a new championship. Since then, cricket in Australia has reached a new level, and the name Henry Holroyd has forever entered the country’s history.
Sheffield Shield in our time
Now the best cricket teams in Australia continue to participate in the Sheffield Shield. Below we will provide a table with the current state of the teams for 2021.
| Team name | Season of joining the Sheffield Shield | Last time the title was taken | The number of titles taken |
| NSW Blues | 1892 – 1893 | 2019 – 2020 | 47 |
| Queensland Bulls | 1926 – 1927 | 2020 – 2021 | 9 |
| Southern Redbacks | 1892 – 1893 | 1995 – 1996 | 13 |
| Tasmanian Tigers | 1977 – 1978 | 2012 – 2013 | 3 |
| Victoria | 1892 – 1893 | 2018 – 2019 | 32 |
| Western Warriors | 1947 – 1948 | 1998 – 1999 | 15 |
In addition to awarding championship titles, the title of the tournament’s best player is awarded annually at the Sheffield Shield, starting from the 1975 – 1976 season.
For many years, different scoring systems have been used in competitions. At the moment, points are awarded in each home and away match. Up-to-date information is in this table (all results – regardless of the first innings):
| Results | Points |
| Complete victory | 6 |
| Draw | 3 |
| Defeat | 0 |
| Interrupted or tied matches | 1 |
The Sheffield Shield occupies a key place in Australian cricket history and is recognized by the cricket community as one of the main first-class cricket competitions in the world. And, of course, it is the most spectacular domestic cricket tournament in Australia.
By the way, on the championship website, you can find a detailed list of records made in the entire history of the Sheffield Shield.
The Sheffield Shield is one of the most popula tournament in Australia, which is very interesting for fans to follow. We regularly publish cricket tips for betting, including Sheffield Shield.
