Sheffield Shield
The Pura Cup (formerly known as the Sheffield Shield) is the domestic first class cricket competition in Australia. Each of the state teams play in a round-robin series of home and away 4 day matches against every other team, followed by a final. A separate limited overs competition known as the ING Cup runs concurrently.
It is considered to be the strongest domestic competition in world cricket and has underpinned the success of the Australian Test team since its inception.
History
In 1891-92 the 3rd Earl of Sheffield was in Australia as the promoter of the English team led by W. G. Grace. The tour included three Tests played in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide.
At the conclusion of the tour, Sheffield donated £150 to the New South Wales Cricket Association to fund a trophy for an annual tournament of intercolonial cricket in Australia. The three colonies of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia were already regularly playing ad-hoc matches which were very popular.
The new tournament commenced in the summer of 1892 with the combatants playing for a silver shield named in honour of its benefactor.
Sponsorship and name change
In 1999, the Australian Cricket Board (now Cricket Australia) announced a 4 year sponsorship deal which included renaming the Sheffield Shield to the Pura Cup. Pura is a brand name of a major Australian dairy manufacturer.
Although the competition had been running with losses of several million dollars per annum, cricket traditionalists protested strongly, arguing against the encroaching wave of commercialism damaging the 100 year plus competition. Many cricket lovers still refer to the competition as the "Shield" either as force of habit, or as a subtle protest.
The sponsorship increased total annual prize money to A$220,000, with the winners receiving A$75,000 and the runners up A$45,000.
See: Cricinfo article
Teams
| TEAM | ENTERED COMPETITION |
WINS |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales Blues (New South Wales) | 1892-93 | 43 |
| Victorian Bushrangers (Victoria) | 1892-93 | 26 |
| Western Warriors (Western Australia) | 1947-48 | 15 |
| Southern Redbacks (South Australia) | 1892-93 | 13 |
| Queensland Bulls (Queensland) | 1927-28 | 5 |
| Tasmanian Tigers (Tasmania) | 1982-83 | 0 |
- Wins up to and including 2003-04 season.
Points system
to do ...
Winners table
| SEASON | WINNER |
|---|---|
| 1892-93 | Victoria |
| 1893-94 | South Australia |
| 1894-95 | Victoria |
| 1895-96 | New South Wales |
| 1896-97 | New South Wales |
| 1897-98 | Victoria |
| 1898-99 | Victoria |
| 1899-00 | New South Wales |
| 1900-01 | Victoria |
| 1901-02 | New South Wales |
| 1902-03 | New South Wales |
| 1903-04 | New South Wales |
| 1904-05 | New South Wales |
| 1905-06 | New South Wales |
| 1906-07 | New South Wales |
| 1907-08 | Victoria |
| 1908-09 | New South Wales |
| 1909-10 | South Australia |
| 1910-11 | New South Wales |
| 1911-12 | New South Wales |
| 1912-13 | South Australia |
| 1913-14 | New South Wales |
| 1914-15 | Victoria |
| 1915-16 | - |
| 1916-17 | - |
| 1917-18 | - |
| 1918-19 | - |
| 1919-20 | New South Wales |
| 1920-21 | New South Wales |
| 1921-22 | Victoria |
| 1922-23 | New South Wales |
| 1923-24 | Victoria |
| 1924-25 | Victoria |
| 1925-26 | New South Wales |
| 1926-27 | South Australia |
| 1927-28 | Victoria |
| 1928-29 | New South Wales |
| 1929-30 | Victoria |
| 1930-31 | Victoria |
| 1931-32 | New South Wales |
| 1932-33 | New South Wales |
| 1933-34 | Victoria |
| 1934-35 | Victoria |
| 1935-36 | South Australia |
| 1936-37 | Victoria |
| 1937-38 | New South Wales |
| 1938-39 | South Australia |
| 1939-40 | New South Wales |
| 1940-41 | - |
| 1941-42 | - |
| 1942-43 | - |
| 1943-44 | - |
| 1944-45 | - |
| 1945-46 | - |
| 1946-47 | Victoria |
| 1947-48 | Western Australia |
| 1948-49 | New South Wales |
| 1949-50 | New South Wales |
| 1950-51 | Victoria |
| 1951-52 | New South Wales |
| 1952-53 | South Australia |
| 1953-54 | New South Wales |
| 1954-55 | New South Wales |
| 1955-56 | New South Wales |
| 1956-57 | New South Wales |
| 1957-58 | New South Wales |
| 1958-59 | New South Wales |
| 1959-60 | New South Wales |
| 1960-61 | New South Wales |
| 1961-62 | New South Wales |
| 1962-63 | Victoria |
| 1963-64 | South Australia |
| 1964-65 | New South Wales |
| 1965-66 | New South Wales |
| 1966-67 | Victoria |
| 1967-68 | Western Australia |
| 1968-69 | South Australia |
| 1969-70 | Victoria |
| 1970-71 | South Australia |
| 1971-72 | Western Australia |
| 1972-73 | Western Australia |
| 1973-74 | Victoria |
| 1974-75 | Western Australia |
| 1975-76 | South Australia |
| 1976-77 | Western Australia |
| 1977-78 | Western Australia |
| 1978-79 | Victoria |
| 1979-80 | Victoria |
| 1980-81 | Western Australia |
| 1981-82 | South Australia |
| 1982-83 | New South Wales |
| 1983-84 | Western Australia |
| 1984-85 | New South Wales |
| 1985-86 | New South Wales |
| 1986-87 | Western Australia |
| 1987-88 | Western Australia |
| 1988-89 | Western Australia |
| 1989-90 | New South Wales |
| 1990-91 | Victoria |
| 1991-92 | Western Australia |
| 1992-93 | New South Wales |
| 1993-94 | New South Wales |
| 1994-95 | Queensland |
| 1995-96 | South Australia |
| 1996-97 | Queensland |
| 1997-98 | Western Australia |
| 1998-99 | Western Australia |
| 1999-00 | Queensland |
| 2000-01 | Queensland |
| 2001-02 | Queensland |
| 2002-03 | New South Wales |
| 2003-04 | Victoria |
- Note: The Sheffield Shield was not contested between 1915-1918 & 1940-46 because of the world wars
Highlights
- 1892/93 - Competition commences by formalising the "Intercolonial Matches" regularly played between Victoria and New South Wales
- 1996/97 - Queensland win for the first time since entering the competition after 69 years