# 2021–22 Sheffield Shield season

The 2021–22 Sheffield Shield season was the 120th of the Australian inter-state domestic first-class cricket competition. Queensland were the defending champions.
Initially, on 21 July 2021, Cricket Australia confirmed all the fixtures for the tournament. On 8 September 2021, Cricket Australia announced that the previous schedule had been scrapped due to ongoing lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne and subsequent border restrictions. The fixtures for the first two matches were confirmed, with the full revised schedule to be released later. However, the Round one's second match of the season, between Queensland and Tasmania, was postponed following an increase of COVID-19 cases in the state of Queensland.
On 1 October 2021, Cricket Australia confirmed the fixtures for next three matches. On 20 October 2021, Cricket Australia confirmed the next set of fixtures, following the border openings in Sydney and Melbourne. On 5 November 2021, Cricket Australia confirmed the schedule for three further fixtures, with the venue of the fifth round's first match between South Australia and Queensland that would have been decided based on the location of WBBL|07 season finals. Later, on 21 November 2021, it was confirmed that the match would take place at Karen Rolton Oval, after the WBBL|07 finals venue was confirmed as Adelaide Oval.
On 19 November 2021, the start of the match between New South Wales and Victoria was delayed, after Victoria player Will Sutherland's COVID-19 test result required further analysis. Despite the positive test, Cricket Australia confirmed that the match would start a day later than planned on 20 November 2021.
Western Australia were the first team to reach the final of the competition, with them hosting the final for the first time since the 1997–98 Sheffield Shield season. Victoria finished in second place to join Western Australia in the final. The final ended in a draw, with Western Australia winning the tournament having earned more bonus points in their first 100 overs compared to Victoria.

## Points table

| Team | Pld | W | L | D | A | Ave | Pts |
| Western Australia | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4.69 | 32.82 |
| Victoria | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4.31 | 30.17 |
| Tasmania | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3.89 | 31.09 |
| New South Wales | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3.07 | 21.50 |
| Queensland | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3.03 | 27.23 |
| South Australia | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2.71 | 21.66 |

## Round-Robin stage

Source:

### Round 1

* 24–27 September 2021 Scorecard
* Match drawn Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide Umpires: Michael Graham-Smith and Sam Nogajski Player of the match: Travis Head (South Australia)
* Western Australia won the toss and elected to bat.
* Corey Rocchiccioli (Western Australia) made his first-class debut.
* Jake Carder (South Australia) scored his maiden century in first-class cricket.
* 7–10 October 2021 Scorecard
* Match drawn Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide Umpires: Darren Close and Donovan Koch Player of the match: Tim Ward (Tasmania)
* Tasmania won the toss and elected to bat.
* Tim Ward (Tasmania) scored his maiden century in first-class cricket.
* 15–18 October 2021 Scorecard
* Match drawn Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Umpires: Donovan Koch and Shawn Craig Player of the match: Mark Steketee (Queensland)
* South Australia won the toss and elected to field.

### Round 2

* 17–20 October 2021 Scorecard
* Tasmania won by 3 wickets WACA Ground, Perth Umpires: Michael Graham-Smith and Sam Nogajski Player of the match: Lawrence Neil-Smith (Tasmania)
* Tasmania won the toss and elected to field.
* Lawrence Neil-Smith (Tasmania) took his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.
* Riley Meredith replaced Lawrence Neil-Smith for Tasmania on day 2 as concussion substitute.
* 27–30 October 2021 Scorecard
* Western Australia won by 6 wickets WACA Ground, Perth Umpires: Darren Close and Michael Graham-Smith Player of the match: Joel Paris (Western Australia)
* Western Australia won the toss and elected to field.
* Nathan McAndrew (South Australia) took his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.
* 27–30 October 2021 Scorecard
* Queensland won by 96 runs Riverway Stadium, Townsville Umpires: Donovan Koch and Bruce Oxenford Player of the match: Matthew Kuhnemann (Queensland)
* Queensland won the toss and elected to bat.
* Connor Sully (Queensland) made his first-class debut.
* Matthew Kuhnemann (Queensland) took his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.

### Round 3

* 27–30 October 2021 Scorecard
* Victoria won by 204 runs Drummoyne Oval, Sydney Umpires: Gerard Abood and Greg Davidson Player of the match: Nic Maddinson (Victoria)
* Victoria won the toss and elected to bat.
* Tanveer Sangha (New South Wales) made his first-class debut.
* 5–8 November 2021 Scorecard
* Victoria won by 174 runs Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Umpires: Phillip Gillespie and Tony Wilds Player of the match: Scott Boland (Victoria)
* New South Wales won the toss and elected to field.
* James Seymour (Victoria) scored his maiden century in first-class cricket.
* Wil Parker replaced Jon Holland for Victoria on day 2 as concussion substitute.
* 10–13 November 2021 Scorecard
* Western Australia won by 7 wickets The Gabba, Brisbane Umpires: Shawn Craig and Bruce Oxenford Player of the match: Jhye Richardson (Western Australia)
* Western Australia won the toss and elected to field.
* Jayden Goodwin (Western Australia) made his first-class debut.

### Round 4

* 10–13 November 2021 Scorecard
* Match drawn Blundstone Arena, Hobart Umpires: Darren Close and Sam Nogajski Player of the match: Henry Hunt (South Australia)
* Tasmania won the toss and elected to field.
* Only 15.1 overs, 47 overs and 38.2 overs of play were possible on day 1, day 3 and day 4 respectively due to rain.
* 20–23 November 2021 Scorecard
* Match drawn Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Umpires: Phillip Gillespie and Ben Treloar Player of the match: Travis Dean (Victoria)
* Victoria won the toss and elected to field.
* No play was possible on day 2 due to rain.
* Brody Couch, Xavier Crone (Victoria) and Hayden Kerr (New South Wales) all made their first-class debuts.
* 21–24 November 2021 Scorecard
* Tasmania won by 4 wickets Blundstone Arena, Hobart Umpires: Nathan Johnstone and Bruce Oxenford Player of the match: Caleb Jewell (Tasmania)
* Tasmania won the toss and elected to field.

### Round 5

* 23–26 November 2021 Scorecard
* Queensland won by 8 wickets Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide Umpires: Donovan Koch and Michael Graham-Smith Player of the match: Matthew Kuhnemann (Queensland)
* South Australia won the toss and elected to field.
* Only 50 overs of play was possible on day 1 due to pitch conditions.

### Round 6

* 9–12 February 2022 Scorecard
* Match drawn Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Umpires: Greg Davidson and David Taylor Player of the match: Peter Handscomb (Victoria)
* South Australia won the toss and elected to bat.
* Travis Dean replaced Will Pucovski for Victoria on day 4 as concussion substitute.
* 9–12 February 2022 Scorecard
* New South Wales won by 2 wickets The Gabba, Brisbane Umpires: Ben Treloar and Tony Wilds Player of the match: Chris Tremain (New South Wales)
* New South Wales won the toss and elected to field.
* Ryan Hackney (New South Wales) made his first-class debut.

### Round 7

* 18–21 February 2022 Scorecard
* New South Wales won by 75 runs Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Umpires: Gerard Abood and Tony Wilds Player of the match: Hayden Kerr (New South Wales)
* New South Wales won the toss and elected to bat.
* Nivethan Radhakrishnan (Tasmania) made his first-class debut.
* 18–21 February 2022 Scorecard
* Match drawn Junction Oval, Melbourne Umpires: Greg Davidson and Simon Lightbody Player of the match: Nic Maddinson (Victoria)
* Queensland won the toss and elected to bat.
* Jack Clayton (Queensland) made his first-class debut.

### Round 8

* 2–5 March 2022 Scorecard
* Match drawn The Gabba, Brisbane Umpires: Bruce Oxenford and Darren Close
* South Australia won the toss and elected to field.
* No play was possible on day 1 due to rain.
* 15–18 March 2022 Scorecard
* Match drawn Bankstown Oval, Sydney Umpires: Gerard Abood and Greg Davidson Player of the match: Cameron Bancroft (Western Australia)
* Western Australia won the toss and elected to bat.
* No play was possible on day 2 due to rain.
* Riley Ayre (New South Wales) made his first-class debut.
* Riley Ayre replaced Tanveer Sangha for New South Wales on day 2 as concussion substitute.
* 15–18 March 2022 Scorecard
* Victoria won by 2 wickets Junction Oval, Melbourne Umpires: Shawn Craig and Nathan Johnstone Player of the match: Travis Dean (Victoria)
* Tasmania won the toss and elected to bat.
* Ben Manenti (Tasmania) made his first-class debut.

### Round 9

* 23–26 March 2022 Scorecard
* South Australia won by 5 wickets Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide Umpires: Donovan Koch and Shawn Craig Player of the match: Jason Sangha (New South Wales)
* South Australia won the toss and elected to field.
* Bailey Capel, Jordan Buckingham, Thomas Kelly (South Australia) and Blake Nikitaras (New South Wales) all made their first-class debuts.
* 23–26 March 2022 Scorecard
* Tasmania won by an innings and 231 runs Bellerive Oval, Hobart Umpires: Michael Graham-Smith and Sam Nogajski Player of the match: Sam Rainbird (Tasmania)
* Tasmania won the toss and elected to bat.
* Sam Rainbird took the best bowling figures for Tasmania in a first-class match.
* Sam Rainbird also took the best match figures for Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield with 13/42.
* 23–26 March 2022 Scorecard
* Western Australia won by an innings and 51 runs WACA Ground, Perth Umpires: Gerard Abood and Phillip Gillespie Player of the match: Hilton Cartwright (Western Australia)
* Western Australia won the toss and elected to field.
* Cameron McClure (Victoria) and Teague Wyllie (Western Australia) both made their first-class debuts.

## Final

* 31 March – 4 April 2022 Scorecard
* Match drawn WACA Ground, Perth Umpires: Donovan Koch and Sam Nogajski Player of the match: Sam Whiteman (Western Australia)
* Victoria won the toss and elected to field.

## Statistics
### Most runs

| Player | Team | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | Ave | HS | 100 | 50 |
| Peter Handscomb | Victoria | 8 | 15 | 1 | 697 | 49.78 | 148* | 2 | 3 |
| Sam Whiteman | Western Australia | 7 | 13 | 2 | 641 | 58.27 | 176* | 2 | 2 |
| Hilton Cartwright | Western Australia | 8 | 15 | 1 | 601 | 42.92 | 121* | 2 | 3 |
| Henry Hunt | South Australia | 8 | 15 | 1 | 601 | 42.92 | 134 | 3 | 1 |
| Tim Ward | Tasmania | 8 | 14 | 0 | 552 | 39.42 | 144 | 1 | 3 |

### Most wickets

| Player | Team | Mat | Inns | Overs | Wkts | Ave | Econ | BBI | BBM | 5 | 10 |
| Mark Steketee | Queensland | 6 | 12 | 209.2 | 32 | 17.93 | 2.74 | 7/44 | 10/92 | 2 | 1 |
| Nathan McAndrew | South Australia | 8 | 15 | 302.4 | 27 | 30.18 | 2.69 | 5/84 | 6/113 | 1 | 0 |
| Scott Boland | Victoria | 5 | 10 | 218.3 | 26 | 17.07 | 2.03 | 5/56 | 8/89 | 1 | 0 |
| Gurinder Sandhu | Queensland | 6 | 11 | 175.1 | 25 | 19.16 | 2.73 | 6/57 | 7/68 | 2 | 0 |
| Matthew Kuhnemann | Queensland | 7 | 13 | 289.3 | 25 | 31.88 | 2.75 | 5/25 | 10/167 | 3 | 1 |