News Sports Cricket Cricket Australia announces schedule for One-Day Cup, Sheffield Shield

Cricket Australia announces schedule for One-Day Cup, Sheffield Shield

The Sheffield Shield season will be shortened by one round to nine matches per team.

The Sheffield Shield season will be shortened by one round to nine matches per team. Image Source : GETTY IMAGESThe Sheffield Shield season will be shortened by one round to nine matches per team.

Cricket Australia on Wednesday confirmed a full 22-match One-Day Cup schedule for the ongoing season, starting on February 16 with the final to be played on April 30.

The Sheffield Shield season will be shortened by one round to nine matches per team.

Victoria, having only participated in two of the opening four rounds held in South Australia, will play seven matches in early 2021. New South Wales and Queensland have six remaining matches each, while all other states have five.

The Shield final will be held from April 15-19.

The announcement of the schedule comes a week after the announcement of of a full, eight-round WNCL competition from January 15.

"To have achieved close to a full slate of matches in a pandemic-afflicted summer is testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone in Australian Cricket and demonstrates a collective commitment to supporting and promoting domestic cricket," Peter Roach, Cricket Australia's Head of Cricket Operations, said.

"Today's announcement locks in the final pieces of the most complex scheduling puzzle ever attempted by cricket and we are exceptionally grateful to our players, state and territory associations and the ACA for their patience in this process and look forward to delivering a compelling end to the domestic season.

"We're now a week into the tenth edition of the KFC Big Bash League and will look ahead with great anticipation to the men's Vodafone Test before the resumption of domestic First Class and List A cricket in February," he further said.

The four-match Test series between Australia and India will also start from Thursday at the Adelaide Oval.