The South Australian government’s plan to host the Sheffield Shield final at the Adelaide Oval has been blocked.
In a statement on Friday, Cricket Australia announced that the five-day match will be played at Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide’s city centre.
The decision comes after the SA government, Cricket Australia and the AFL discussed plans to stage the match between Port Adelaide’s round-one match against Richmond on Saturday, March 22 and Adelaide’s round three game against North Melbourne the following Sunday.
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Jake Lehmann and Ben Manenti of South Australia embrace after winning their Sheffield Shield match against Victoria. Getty
“We are disappointed South Australia has been prevented from hosting the Sheffield Shield final at Adelaide Oval,” Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg said.
“The Sheffield Shield final is a significant event for Australia’s national sport, and we believe Adelaide Oval would have been the most appropriate venue.”
It had been proposed that the Shield final would begin on Monday, March 24 and conclude on Friday, March 28. But the match will now start on Wednesday, March 26.
Earlier this week, SA premier Peter Malinauskas slammed the Adelaide Crows for requesting taxpayer concessions in return for permitting the Shield final to be played at the Adelaide Oval only days out from their third-round match.
“We have received a request. It’s not from cricket [and] I won’t say what entity it is in footy,” Malinauskas told Adelaide radio station FIVEAA on Wednesday before confirming the petition came from the Crows.
“I’ve got to say, it’s a little bit galling that people are trying to use an opportunity to look after fans as an opportunity to slug the taxpayer and I won’t be having it.
“Just handing over cash is not something that I’ll be doing. I hope this doesn’t get in the way of it.
“My government is not going to be giving cash so they get out of the way of something everybody thinks should happen.”
Malinauskas had been desperate to play the Shield final at the Adelaide Oval, with South Australia having last won the first-class competition in 1996.
The state squad had also secured hosting rights after finishing at the top of the Shield ladder.
“I would like to thank Premier Malinauskas for his advocacy in this matter and his passionate support of cricket and the South Australia Cricket Association which made an extremely compelling case to host the final at Adelaide Oval,” Greenberg said.
“We will continue to work collaboratively at all levels to ensure cricket gains and provides appropriate access to shared venues across the country.”
Crows fans celebrates a goal during a Crows match at Adelaide Oval last season. Getty
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon previously confirmed the league was happy for the game to be held at the Adelaide Oval. However, it would not be moving any of its fixtures to accommodate the final.
It is not known exactly why the Crows requested the tax break but concerns for playing surface safety and the health of players is thought to be their reasoning.
South Australia’s opponent will be decided in this weekend’s final round of Shield matches.
