Sheffield Shield Preview | Repeat of last years final awaits in Adelaide as Queensland seek revenge against South Australia

In a curious case of the number threes, Queensland skipper Marnus Labuschagne and South Australia captain Nathan McSweeney are set to clash head-to-head in the upcoming Sheffield Shield round with a possible Ashes opening spot at stake. The former was dropped for the first time in his career by Australia earlier this year in the Caribbean after a horrid stretch of form where he had no centuries to show in over two years, but returned to the fold as opener for the World Test Championship Final against albeit with yet more disappointing results. Nevertheless, his experience of 58 Tests and an average of 46.19 during the timeframe speaks for itself, as did the 160 he scored in the season opener to rush further ahead in the race to pair Queensland teammate Usman Khawaja at the top of the order. McSweeeney, on the other hand, got a fleeting taste of Test cricket in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India in the previous summer before being taken on a tour of Sri Lanka, albeit a further appearance has eluded him since.

South Australia are the reigning Shield champions after finishing top of the table last season with six wins in 10 games and just loss, leading to a stunning points tally of 55.61. They backed up the form with a thrilling win over Queensland in the final, chasing down 270 to lift their first Shield title in three decades. However, the Redbacks suffered defeat in the opening round of the latest season

SOA:  L W D W W

QSD:  D L D W L

Queensland have ahd the wood over South Australia both historically and in recent times, holding a 10-match edge overall and managing 10 wins as opposed to South Australia's four over the last decade. Their ratio in Adelaide is the same, with the Bulls having won five and lost two against the Redbacks at the venue since 2015/16. All that said, it is South Australia who emerged triumphant the last time these two teams met in red-ball cricket earlier this year in the Shield final, as they chased down 270 with four wickets to spare to claim their 14th Shield title. That leaves their recent run over Queensland looking pretty, with three wins, a draw, and a loss across their last five Shield encounters.  

SOA 59-69 QSD

The season opener at Adelaide Oval featured a terse four-day encounter where Victoria chased down 231 with four wickets to spare after they had won the toss and elected to field first. It is a trend at the venue given how Days 2 and 3 are often the best times for batting as the usually healthy covering of grass settles down and makes conditions prime for run-scoring. Regardless of which way the toss goes, expect a good volume of runs on the early season pitch, with wear and tear possibly coming into play on Day 4.   

Accuweather suggests a relatively hot October day in Adelaide, with temperatures touching 30 degrees celsius despite slight cover leading to hazy sunshine for large parts of the day.

South Australia will welcome Nathan McAndrew back into the red-ball mix after he announced his return from injury with a match-winning five-wicket haul in their latest One-Day Cup outing, with Haono Jacobs likely to make way. 

Matt Renshaw will be away on Australia duty for the ODI series against India and is likely to be repalced by Angus Lovell, while Marnus Labuschagne will continue to captain having missed out on international selection.  

Queensland (probable): Angus Lovell, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne (c), Jack Clayton, Jack Wildermuth, Hugh Weibgen, Jimmy Peirson (wk), Michael Neser, Gurinder Sandhu, Mitchell Swepson, Benji Floros   

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