Final round of Sheffield Shield called off as fate of the final uncertain

The COVID 19 outbreak which has been sweeping around the world with almost 140 countries already under its grasp has scored yet another victim in the field of sports and this time it's the Sheffield Shield Down Under. Cricket Australia (CA) has decided to call off the final round of the domestic competition which was scheduled from March 17.

But the future of the final game which is scheduled on March 27 lies behind dense clouds of doubt as the governing body is yet to take a call on it. The tenth round of the tournament was scheduled to feature South Australia and Queensland at Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide, the ladder-leading NSW Blues were to play Western Australia in Perth while Victoria were set to host Tasmania at the Junction Oval.

With the cancellation of the final, another concern looms big around the final and its one of deciding the finalists. The governing body will have to decide who will be facing the inevitable table-toppers NSW in the final with Victoria and Queensland placed second and third in the ladder respectively with a difference of just 1.62 points.

It seems unlikely that the final will be played at all with the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy and the T20 series which was scheduled to follow it in New Zealand were cancelled. CA has also postponed the Australia women’s South Africa tour due to the ever-evolving pandemic.

A host of international series have also been cancelled, including England's Test tour of Sri Lanka and India's limited-overs series with South Africa. The Indian Premier League has had its original March 29 start date pushed back until at least April 15, while India has also suspended play in all its domestic competitions until further notice.