Round Six of the Sheffield Shield commences this Wednesday with the domestic first-class competition being played beyond Australian shores for the first time in its 123-year history.
The historic move will see the New South Wales Blues take on the Alcohol.Think Again Western Warriors at Burt Suttcliffe Oval in Lincoln, New Zealand.
Cricket Australia scheduled the match to help prepare players selected for the upcoming Test matches on the Qantas Tour of New Zealand, as well as giving players in both sides the opportunity to increase their playing experience outside of Australia.
Sean Cary, Head of Cricket Operations at Cricket Australia said that he hoped to continue similar opportunities within the Sheffield Shield in future years.
“We regularly look at opportunities to take the game to areas outside of Australian capital cities. This Sheffield Shield season will see a range of different venues used including Mackay, Coffs Harbour, Alice Springs and Lincoln in New Zealand.
“It’s an important part of our efforts to give Australian players opportunities in different conditions that will hopefully prepare them better for international cricket.
“We’d like to express our sincere thanks to New Zealand Cricket for working with us to make this Shield match possible. They have been very accommodating and we hope to continue that relationship and return the favor where possible,” concluded Cary.
Three Australian Test players will participate in the Sheffield Shield match including Nathan Lyon and Peter Nevill from New South Wales and Adam Voges from Western Australia.
Selected squads are as follows:
New South Wales Blues squad: Nic Maddinson (c), Sean Abbott, Doug Bollinger, Ryan Carters, Trent Copeland, Ed Cowan, Daniel Hughes, Josh Lalor, Nathan Lyon, Peter Nevill, Kurtis Patterson, Ben Rohrer, Will Somerville
Alcohol.Think Again Western Warriors squad: Adam Voges (c), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Will Bosisto, Hilton Cartwright, Michael Hogan, Michael Klinger, David Moody, Joel Paris, Nathan Rimmington, Ashton Turner, Jonathan Wells, Sam Whiteman.