Vics eye Alice to host final

NO MCG and a lack of alternative venues in Victoria will force the Bushrangers to host the Sheffield Shield final in Alice Springs, should they earn that right.

With three rounds to go, Victoria are the runaway competition leaders with NSW leading a tightly-bunched pack of four contenders more than 11 points adrift.

The final will be played at Traeger Park from Sunday, March 26, should the twotime defending champion Vics maintain their hold on top spot.

Cricket authorities have ceded rights to the MCG to the AFL over that period, with the league’s opening round of the 2017 home-and-away season to take place on the weekend of the Shield final.

Under the terms of a deal with the Northern Territory Government, the Bushrangers would have hosted the final in Alice Springs last year if they had finished top.

But they finished second then defeated hosts South Australia in the final at Glenelg Oval in Adelaide.

Victoria drew with Western Australia in a “home” final at Bellerive Oval in Hobart to claim the 2014-15 Shield title.

Cricket Victoria chief executive Tony Dodemaide concedes that the arrangement isn’t ideal for local fans but adds that there is simply no alternative.