Victoria v South Australia betting tips and prediction
Welcome to our Victoria v South Australia betting tips and predictions for the Sheffield Shield final, beginning on Thursday at the Junction Oval.
Victoria has been installed a 1.73 favourite to defeat the Redbacks (2.02) with cricket bookmakers, with this no surprise given their dominant season.
The top-of-the-table Victorians have few injuries to contend with although they will without IPL-bound Matt Short but have been boosted by Test bowler Scott Boland in the second-half of the season, after his successful Ashes campaign.
South Australia will be without Test star Travis Head as head heads to Sunrisers Hyderabad commitments in India, but Alex Carey, who guided the Redbacks to a final victory a year ago, will play.
Star paceman Brendan Doggett has suffered a hamstring injury, with one possible replacement Campbell Thompson also out with a hamstring, but Wes Agar is fit after overcoming a back injury and looms as the likely replacement.
Both teams are yet to whittle down their 14-man squads, with Lloyd Pope and Jake Fraser-McGurk likely to miss out for the Redbacks.
These teams played twice this season, with Victoria winning the first encounter, while the second was an uneventful draw in the final round of the Shield.
Sheffield Shield final details
- Who: Victoria v South Australia
- What: 2025-26 Sheffield Shield final
- When: March 26-30, 2026
- Where: Junction Oval, Melbourne
Sheffield Shield final squads
Victoria: Sam Harper (wk), Campbell Kellaway, Dylan Brasher, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Oliver Peake, Will Sutherland (c), Fergus O’Neill, Sam Elliott, Todd Murphy, Scott Boland
South Australia: Henry Hunt, Mackenzie Harvey, Nathan McSweeney (c), Jason Sangha, Alex Carey (wk), Jake Lehmann, Liam Scott, Ben Manenti, Nathan McAndrew, Henry Thornton, Jordan Buckingham
Victoria v South Australia betting tips
Our cricket betting expert has assessed the Sheffield Shield final markets and found some value Victoria v South Australia tips:
Henry Hunt to top-score in SA’s innings
Hunt is one of the contenders to open the batting at Test level for Australia, and many believe his technique is the best of the lot of them. Hunt has made scores in both games against the Redbacks this season, and with Doggett out, we’ll back him to top-score in their first innings here. If he misses out, we’ll go again in the second. He is paying a juicy 6.75 to to top-score.
Todd Murphy most wickets
The bespectacled Todd Murphy bowled well at the Junction Oval in their last encounter, with the wicket very responsive for spinners. We’re going to strongly consider him for most wickets in the second-innings. it should be paying around the 5.00 quote with Australian betting sites.
Lloyd Pope most wickets
Pope if he plays could be a wildcard at big odds. We’re going to be watching this one closely and make a call when the teams drop. He is paying 6.00 to take most wickets in the first innings.
Victoria v South Australia prediction
South Australia has played well in the second-half of the season and they will fancy their chances of defeating the Victorians, particularly with Carey in the line-up. The incumbent Test keeper is a proven big game performer and ads starch to their batting line-up. Despite this, Victoria has been a beacon of consistency this season and their runaway performance means we simply cannot bet against them. Our final Victoria v South Australia prediction? Vics by six wickets or 200 runs.
