Doggett loses fitness race for Sheffield Shield final

The quick injured his hamstring last month but made a strong push to recover for the decider

AAP

Published: Mar 23, 2026, 3:52 AM (9 hrs ago)

South Australia's fringe Test quick Brendan Doggett has been ruled of the Sheffield Shield final because of injury.

Doggett's hamstring will prevent him fronting up to Victoria from Thursday as South Australia chase consecutive Shield triumphs.

Doggett was player of the match in SA's win over Queensland in last year's final, taking 11 wickets at Adelaide's Karen Rolton Oval. But he will be absent for the road trip to face pacesetters Victoria at the Junction Oval.

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"He hasn't come up - we tried as best we can," SA coach Ryan Harris told reporters on Monday. "He was going pretty well and he had a bit of a step back last week. Going into a final, you sometimes risk it, but this is probably too much, too fast."

Doggett hasn't played since suffering his injury in February. "He has got potentially a big August coming up with the Australian stuff as well, so we want to make sure we're not going to run him into the ground," Harris said.

"He doesn't have to have surgery this time ... we're obviously going to miss him going in after what he did last year."

South Australia's win over Queensland in last year's final ended their Shield drought dating back to 1996. And the state is now gunning for consecutive titles for the first time.

"That's what you play Sheffield Shield cricket to do, is to win titles," South Australia's Test wicketkeeper Alex Carey said. The excitement around last year was really special. But for this group, titles won't just define us.

"I think we've got a really strong culture here in South Australian cricket for continued success."

With Doggett out, South Australia are adding quick Wes Agar and batter Jake Fraser-McGurk for their trip to Victoria, the latter having withdrawn from the PSL.

"We understand they're a really good team and they've earned the right to host the final," Carey said. "I do think we're playing our best cricket at the right time of the year. We're looking at getting over to Victoria, playing our brand of cricket ... we're excited."

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