Sheffield Shield

Sheffield Shield
Current season, competition or edition:; Pura Cup season 2007-08
	File:Pura Cup logo.jpg
Sport	Cricket
Founded	1892
No. of teams	6
Country	Australia
Most recent; champion(s)	Tasmania

The Pura Cup (formerly known as the Sheffield Shield) is the domestic first class cricket competition in Australia. Each of the six state teams play in a round-robin series of home and away 4-day matches against every other team. Teams are awarded points based on the results of the match, and after each pair of teams have played each other twice, the two highest ranked teams play a 5-day final. A separate limited overs competition known as the Ford Ranger Cup runs concurrently.

History

In 1891-92 the Earl of Sheffield was in Australia as the promoter of the English team led by W. G. Grace. The tour included three Tests played in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide.

At the conclusion of the tour, Sheffield donated £150 to the New South Wales Cricket Association to fund a trophy for an annual tournament of intercolonial cricket in Australia. The three colonies of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia were already regularly playing ad-hoc matches which were very popular.

The new tournament commenced in the summer of 1892 with the three colonies playing for a silver shield named after its benefactor.

Sponsorship and name change

In 1999, the Australian Cricket Board (now Cricket Australia) announced a 4 year sponsorship deal which included renaming the Sheffield Shield to the Pura Milk Cup, then to the Pura Cup the following season. Pura is a brand name of National Foods a wholly owned subsidiary of the Philippines based San Miguel Corporation.

Although the competition had been running with losses of several million dollars per annum, cricket traditionalists protested strongly, arguing against the encroaching wave of commercialism damaging the competition that had been running for over 100 years. Many cricket lovers still refer to the competition as the "Shield" either as force of habit, or as a subtle protest.

The sponsorship increased total annual prize money to A$220,000, with the winners receiving A$75,000 and the runners up A$45,000.

See: Cricinfo article

Teams

State	Nickname	Corporate name	Colour	Home ground	Entered competition	Wins
New South Wales	Blues	SpeedBlitz Blues	Light Blue	Sydney Cricket Ground	1892-93	44
Victoria	Bushrangers	VB Victorian Bushrangers	Dark Blue	Melbourne Cricket Ground	1892-93	26
Western Australia	Warriors	Retravision Warriors	Gold	The WACA, Perth	1947-48	15
South Australia	Redbacks	West End Redbacks	Red	Adelaide Oval	1892-93	13
Queensland	Bulls	XXXX Gold Queensland Bulls	Maroon	The Gabba, Brisbane	1926-27	6
Tasmania	Tigers	Cascade Tasmanian Tigers	Green	Bellerive Oval, Hobart	1982-83	1

Wins up to and including 2006-07 season.

Home grounds are the main venues used for home games by each team; other venues in the home state of each team are also regularly used.

Points system

A number of different systems have been used over the years. Currently, points are awarded for each match during the home and away season, with the top two teams playing in the final. The team with the most points hosts the final on their home ground and only needs to draw that match to win the title.

Category	What it means	Points
First innings points	The team that scores the most runs in their first innings, whether they bat first or second	2 - retained even if beaten outright
Outright win	The team that wins the match, whether they win, lose or tie the first innings	6 - maximum points
Tied match	If both teams finish on equal runs after completing two innings each	3 - irrespective of first innings result
Tied innings	Equal runs on first innings and no outright result	1 each
Outright loss	Team who loses the match after a tie in the first innings	1
First innings loss	Team with the least amount of runs in the first innings	0
Outright loss	Team who loses the match after losing in the first innings	0
Abandoned/Draw	Abandoned or drawn match with no first innings result	0

Winners table

Prior to the introduction of a Final in 1982/83, the team with most points after the home and away rounds was declared the winner.

Season	Winner	Runner-up
1892-93	Victoria
1893-94	South Australia
1894-95	Victoria
1895-96	New South Wales
1896-97	New South Wales
1897-98	Victoria
1898-99	Victoria
1899-00	New South Wales
1900-01	Victoria
1901-02	New South Wales
1902-03	New South Wales
1903-04	New South Wales
1904-05	New South Wales
1905-06	New South Wales
1906-07	New South Wales
1907-08	Victoria
1908-09	New South Wales
1909-10	South Australia
1910-11	New South Wales
1911-12	New South Wales
1912-13	South Australia
1913-14	New South Wales
1914-15	Victoria
1915-19	(not contested due to World War I)
1919-20	New South Wales
1920-21	New South Wales
1921-22	Victoria
1922-23	New South Wales
1923-24	Victoria
1924-25	Victoria
1925-26	New South Wales
1926-27	South Australia
1927-28	Victoria
1928-29	New South Wales
1929-30	Victoria
1930-31	Victoria
1931-32	New South Wales
1932-33	New South Wales
1933-34	Victoria
1934-35	Victoria
1935-36	South Australia
1936-37	Victoria
1937-38	New South Wales
1938-39	South Australia
1939-40	New South Wales
1940-46	(not contested due to World War II)
1946-47	Victoria
1947-48	Western Australia
1948-49	New South Wales
1949-50	New South Wales
1950-51	Victoria
1951-52	New South Wales
1952-53	South Australia
1953-54	New South Wales
1954-55	New South Wales
1955-56	New South Wales
1956-57	New South Wales
1957-58	New South Wales
1958-59	New South Wales
1959-60	New South Wales
1960-61	New South Wales
1961-62	New South Wales
1962-63	Victoria
1963-64	South Australia
1964-65	New South Wales
1965-66	New South Wales
1966-67	Victoria
1967-68	Western Australia
1968-69	South Australia
1969-70	Victoria
1970-71	South Australia
1971-72	Western Australia
1972-73	Western Australia
1973-74	Victoria
1974-75	Western Australia
1975-76	South Australia
1976-77	Western Australia
1977-78	Western Australia
1978-79	Victoria
1979-80	Victoria
1980-81	Western Australia
1981-82	South Australia
1982-83	New South Wales	Western Australia
1983-84	Western Australia	Queensland
1984-85	New South Wales	Queensland
1985-86	New South Wales	Queensland
1986-87	Western Australia	Victoria
1987-88	Western Australia	Queensland
1988-89	Western Australia	South Australia
1989-90	New South Wales	Queensland
1990-91	Victoria	New South Wales
1991-92	Western Australia	New South Wales
1992-93	New South Wales	Queensland
1993-94	New South Wales	Tasmania
1994-95	Queensland	South Australia
1995-96	South Australia	Western Australia
1996-97	Queensland	Western Australia
1997-98	Western Australia	Tasmania
1998-99	Western Australia	Queensland
1999-00	Queensland	Victoria
2000-01	Queensland	Victoria
2001-02	Queensland	Tasmania
2002-03	New South Wales	Queensland
2003-04	Victoria	Queensland
2004-05	New South Wales	Queensland
2005-06	Queensland	Victoria
2006-07	Tasmania	New South Wales

Player of the Year

The Player of the Year award is announced at the end of each season^[1]. Since it's inception in 1976 it has been awarded to the player or players who are considered to have returned consistently magnificent performances by a panel of judges. Victorian and South Australian batsman Matthew Elliott has won the award the most times, being awarded Player of the Year on 3 separate occasions.

Season	Winner(s)
1975-76	Ian Chappell (SA), Greg Chappell (QLD)
1976-77	Richie Robinson (VIC)
1977-78	David Ogilvie (QLD)
1978-79	Peter Sleep (SA)
1979-80	Ian Chappell (SA)
1980-81	Greg Chappell (QLD)
1981-82	Kepler Wessels (QLD)
1982-83	Kim Hughes (WA)
1983-84	Brian Davison (TAS), John Dyson (NSW)
1984-85	David Boon (TAS)
1985-86	Allan Border (QLD)
1986-87	Craig McDermott (QLD)
1987-88	Dirk Tazelaar (QLD), Mark Waugh (NSW)
1988-89	Tim May (SA)
1989-90	Mark Waugh (NSW)
1990-91	Stuart Law (QLD)
1991-92	Tony Dodemaide (VIC)
1992-93	Jamie Siddons (SA)
1993-94	Matthew Hayden (QLD)
1994-95	Dean Jones (VIC)
1995-96	Matthew Elliott (VIC)
1996-97	Andy Bichel (QLD)
1997-98	Dene Hills (TAS)
1998-99	Matthew Elliott (VIC)
1999-00	Darren Lehmann (SA)
2000-01	Jamie Cox (TAS)
2001-02	Brad Hodge (VIC), Jimmy Maher (QLD)
2002-03	Clinton Perren (QLD)
2003-04	Matthew Elliott (VIC)
2004-05	Michael Bevan (TAS)
2005-06	Andy Bichel (QLD)
2006-07	Chris Rogers (WA)

Highlights

1892/93 - Competition commences by formalising the Intercolonial matches regularly played between Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales
1982/83 - Final introduced. Tasmania finally entered the competition after many years of exclusion on the grounds that the contest was between the mainland states only.

Records

Individual Records

Most matches played

Rank	Matches	Player	Period
1	161	Jamie Cox (TAS)	1987-88 - 2005-06
2	159	John Inverarity (WA/SA)	1962-63 - 1984-85
3	146	Jamie Siddons (VIC/SA)	1984-85 - 1999-00
4	145	Darren Lehmann (SA/VIC)	1987-88 -
5	142	Stuart Law (QLD)	1987/88 -
Source: [1]. Last updated: May 31 2007.

Most dismissals

Rank	Dismissals	Player	Matches
1	546 (499 c. 47 st.)	Darren Berry (SA/VIC)	139
2	488 (474 c. 14 st.)	Wade Seccombe (QLD)	101
3	359 (331 c. 28 st.)	Tim Zoehrer (WA)	107
4	351 (318 c. 33 st.)	Rod Marsh (WA)	86
5	339 (298 c. 41 st.)	Phil Emery (NSW)	109
Source: [2]. Last updated: 31 May, 2007.

Team Records

Team Results

Rank	Team	Entered	Matches	Won	Lost	Drawn	Tied	% Won
1	New South Wales	1892-93	741	317	209	214	1	60.25
2	Victoria	1892-93	733	275	215	242	1	56.11
3	Western Australia	1947-48	507	175	149	183	0	54.01
4	Queensland	1926-27	625	185	213	226	1	46.49
5	South Australia	1892-93	729	206	327	195	1	38.67
6	Tasmania	1982-1983	279	58	103	118	0	36.02
Win percentage excludes drawn matches. Source: [3]. Last updated: 1 June 2007.

Highest Team Totals

Rank	Total	Team	Opponent	Venue	Season
1	1107	Victoria	New South Wales	Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne	1926-27
2	1059	Victoria	Tasmania	Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne	1922-23
3	918	New South Wales	South Australia	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	1900-01
4	900-6d	Queensland	Victoria	Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane	2005-06
5	839	New South Wales	Tasmania	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	1898-99
Source: [4]. Last updated: 31 May 2007.

Lowest Team Totals

Rank	Total	Team	Opponent	Venue	Season
1	27	South Australia	New South Wales	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	1955-56
2	29	South Australia	New South Wales	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	2004-05
3	31	Victoria	New South Wales	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	1906-07
4	35	Victoria	New South Wales	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	1926-27
5	41	Western Australia	South Australia	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide	1989-90
Source: [5]. Last updated: 31 May 2007.

Batting Records

Highest individual scores

Rank	Runs	Player	Match	Venue	Season
1	452*	Don Bradman (NSW/SA)	New South Wales v Queensland	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	1929-30
2	437	Bill Ponsford (VIC)	Victoria v Queensland	Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne	1927-28
3	365*	Clem Hill (SA)	South Australia v New South Wales	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide	1900-01
4	359	Bob Simpson (NSW/WA)	New South Wales v Queensland	Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane	1963-64
5	357	Don Bradman (NSW/SA)	South Australia v Victoria	Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne	1935-36
Source: [6]. Last updated: 1 June 2007.

Most career runs

Rank	Runs	Player	Career
1	13,411 (263 inns.)	Darren Lehmann (SA/VIC)	1987-88 -
2	10,821 (295 inns.)	Jamie Cox (TAS)	1987-88 - 2005-06
3	10,643 (259 inns.)	Jamie Siddons (VIC/SA)	1984-85 - 1999-00
4	10,621 (211 inns.)	Michael Bevan (SA/NSW/TAS)	1989/90 - 2006/07
5	9,843 (219 inns.)	Matthew Elliott (VIC/SA)	1992-93 -
Source: [7]. Last updated: 1 June 2007.

Most runs in a season

Rank	Runs	Player	Average	Season
1	1,464 (18 inns.)	Michael Bevan (TAS)	97.60	2004-05
2	1,381 (20 inns.)	Matthew Elliott (VIC)	81.23	2003-04
3	1,254 (18 inns.)	Graham Yallop (VIC)	69.66	1982-83
4	1,240 (20 inns.)	Michael Bevan (NSW)	82.66	1993-94
5	1,217 (8 inns.)	Bill Ponsford (VIC)	152.12	1927-28
Source: [8]. Last updated: 28 May 2007.

Highest batting averages

Rank	Average	Player	Career
1	110.19 (96 inns.)	Don Bradman (NSW/SA)	1927-28 - 1948-49
2	83.27 (70 inns.)	Bill Ponsford (VIC)	1920-21 - 1933-34
3	70.88 (95 inns.)	Alan Kippax (NSW)	1918-19 - 1935-36
4	68.00 (81 inns.)	Monty Noble (NSW)	1893-94 - 1919-20
5	67.03 (64 inns.)	Bill Woodfull (VIC)	1921-22 - 1933-34
Qualification: 20 innings. Source: [9]. Last updated: 28 May 2007.

Most centuries

Rank	Centuries	Player	Matches
1	44	Darren Lehmann (SA/VIC)	145
2	42	Michael Bevan (SA/NSW/TAS)	118
3	36	Don Bradman (NSW/SA)	62
4	32	Matthew Elliott (VIC/SA)	114
5	31	Dean Jones (VIC)	110
Source: [10]. Last updated: 26 May 2007.

Bowling Records

Most career wickets

Rank	Wickets	Player	Matches	Average
1	513	Clarrie Grimmett (VIC/SA)	79	25.29
2	431	Michael Kasprowicz (QLD)	97	24.19
3	429	Andy Bichel (QLD)	87	23.03
4	419	Jo Angel (WA)	105	24.86
5	384	Terry Alderman (WA)	97	24.21
Source: [11]. Last updated: 31 May 2007.

Most wickets in a season

Rank	Wickets	Player	Matches	Season
1	67	Colin Miller (TAS)	11	1997-98
2	65	Shaun Tait (SA)	10	2004-05
3	60	Chuck Fleetwood-Smith (VIC)	6	1934-35
4	60	Andy Bichel (QLD)	11	2004-05
5	60	Ben Hilfenhaus (TAS)	11	2006-07
Source: [12]. Last updated: 31 May 2007.

Best career average

Rank	Average	Player	Balls	Wickets
1	17.10	Bill O'Reilly (NSW)	10,740	203
2	17.74	Joel Garner (SA)	2,419	55
3	17.87	Geff Noblet (SA)	11,156	190
4	18.09	Pat Crawford (NSW)	2,517	61
5	19.08	Charlie Turner (NSW)	3,920	73
Qualification: 2000 balls bowled. Source: [13]. Last updated: 31 May 2007.

External links

References

^ "Pura Cup Player of the Year". Cricinfo.com.

The History of the Sheffield Shield, Chris Harte
A Century of Summers: 100 years of Sheffield Shield cricket, Geoff Armstrong

[1] "Pura Cup Player of the Year". Cricinfo.com.

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