Vics make Shield final breakthroughs as rain clears

Shayne Hope | March 27, 2026

Victorian seamers Scott Boland and Sam Elliott have made huge breakthroughs to give the hosts a leg up in the Sheffield Shield final against South Australia.

After a rain-affected first day at Melbourne’s Junction Oval, the visitors resumed at 3-55 on Friday morning and lost overnight batsmen Nathan McSweeney (52) and Alex Carey (26) before reaching 7-154 at lunch.

Liam Scott (14) and Nathan McAndrew (no score) are the not out batsmen, after Ben Manenti (28) threw his wicket away a few minutes before the break.

Manenti, who provided a highlight with a powerful six off Will Sutherland, lost his battle with the Victorian skipper when he holed out to Todd Murphy, who eventually held a juggled catch.

Elliott (1-23), picked ahead of Mitch Perry for the final, went some way towards justifying his selection when he snared the prized wicket of Test star Carey.

A wider ball stayed low and Carey dragged an attempted drive on the up back onto his stumps.

Sutherland (3-37) removed Jake Lehmann (10) and Boland (2-53) had McSweeney caught behind by a diving Sam Harper.

Play started 30 minutes early on Friday and will do so for the remainder of the match after rain took away two full sessions on day one.

Victoria, runaway leaders who earnt hosting rights for the final, won the toss and sent South Australia in to bat.