‘Putrid’: grand final rules under fire after St Kilda run feast in Premier Cricket final

Officials will conduct a review of ‘all aspects’ of the Premier Cricket grand final after St Kilda batted for more than two days in the decider against Carlton at the Junction Oval.

Carlton's Xavier Crone bowled almost 50 overs in the grand final.

Victorian Premier Cricket officials will review “every aspect’’ of the grand final between St Kilda and Carlton, including the venue and the wicket on which the Saints batted for more than two days.

PC operations manager Darren Anderson said reports from the clubs, captains and umpires would be considered after a match that became the most talked about of the season.

Sent in at the Junction Oval, and with no compulsory closure in play, St Kilda totted up 628, the highest total in a District/Premier final for more than a century.

As the higher qualified team, the Saints needed only a draw to win the premiership.

“We’ll look at a number of things … the pitch, the facilities, the way we handled situations throughout the three days … because ultimately we want to run the best competition possible and the final is the showpiece event of our season,’’ Anderson said this afternoon.

“We review all things we do throughout the season and across the finals series, to see what we did, what we can do better and implement any changes that may need to be made. So it’s all aspects of the grand final.’’

Carlton remains miffed that the final was played at the Junction, St Kilda’s home ground, and not a neutral venue.

The Blues had asked for use of the Victorian changerooms but they were told they were unavailable.

Anderson said the issue of the venue would be part of the review.

St Kilda coach Glenn Lalor commends the Carlton players after the grand final.

Carlton president Neville Box said he had not made an official complaint to Cricket Victoria over either the grand final venue or the match conditions.

He said he did not want to be seen as a “whinging, losing president’’.

“I’m very conscious of that,’’ he said.

“St Kilda did nothing wrong in terms of the game. The rules are there. In my opinion, it makes it a bit of a farce and my major concern is that it does not showcase Premier Cricket very well.

“Cricket Victoria have been on the front foot and they’ve told me they’ll be changing something, whether it’s a neutral ground or the rules of the final. I have not submitted any rule proposal because I’ll leave that up to them. I will support a change. But I am not going to be a whinging president.’’

Box said the Junction Oval was St Kilda’s home ground.

He said if St Kilda was in a final, the match should be played at the Albert Ground. If Melbourne was in a final, it should be at the Junction. And if Melbourne and St Kilda were meeting in a GF, a neutral ground should be picked, such as Windy Hill or Toorak Park, Box said.

“Or you have a compulsory closure. That’s just my personal opinion. We have not met as a committee,’’ he said.

EARLIER

Rules for the Victorian Premier Cricket grand final are likely to be changed after St Kilda batted for the best part of three days in the season-decider against Carlton at the Junction Oval.

With no compulsory closure, a flat wicket and a formidable line-up, the Saints piled up 628, the highest total in a District/Premier final for more than a century.

As the higher qualified team, they needed only a draw to win the premiership.

Sent in by Carlton skipper Evan Gulbis, the Saints batted and batted and batted on a docile deck.

They began their innings on Friday morning and were bowled out in the middle session on Sunday afternoon.

Former first-class player Adam Crosthwaite made a century from No. 8, to follow a ton from opener Marcus Harris.

Carlton’s bowlers sent down 239.5 overs, used three new-balls and weren’t far away from calling for a fourth.

Victorian star Marcus Harris on his way to a century for the Saints. Picture: Andrew Batsch

The Blues were 5-95 when the match finished at 5.30pm on Sunday.

The fact that St Kilda could bat on came in for criticism from people watching the match on the Premier Cricket livestream and following the scores on social media.

One called the final an “excellent advertisement for watching grass grow’’. “What a shit show. VCA (Cricket Victoria) should be ashamed,’’ another said.

Former Footscray administration manager George Munro weighed in on Monday morning.

He said it wasn’t St Kilda’s fault, “but seriously CV (Cricket Victoria), you are letting cricket down’.

Munro said the Saints were “worthy winners who played by the rules’’.

“But the rules are putrid. Need to breed (a) winning mentality.’’

The Blues had to toil for two-and-a-half days for 10 wickets. Picture: Andrew Batsch

Premier Cricket operations manager Darren Anderson said he would be recommending that a compulsory closure be brought in for future finals.

It was part of the grand final match conditions in 1988-89 and 1989-90, when the teams could bat for a maximum of 140 overs, then removed from the rules.

Clubs also voted to take out the fourth days of finals in 2018-19. But at the same time they made no call on the maximum number of overs teams could bat.

“On the back of what we’ve seen over the last three days, we’ll be looking to put something up for discussion and then it will be up to the operations advisory group and the clubs to vote on whether or not they believe a change needs to happen or whether we keep it at the status quo,’’ Anderson told CODE Sports on Sunday afternoon.

And there's the century for Saint Adam Crosthwaite. What a cricketer. pic.twitter.com/KiNy1m59vH

— Paul Amy (@PaulAmy375) March 30, 2025

“Ideally it’s a showpiece event and you want to see a contest between the two best sides.

“The way the rules are, St Kilda have done really well. It’s a phenomenal effort to bat through the way they did. But for the neutrals, they’d like to see both teams have a crack and an even chance of trying to create a result as much as possible.

“There’s been a lot of opinion about the state of the game and what teams should have done and didn’t do, but that’s premier Cricket. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion.’’

The wicket at the Junction was pancake-flat.

It was the first red-ball final at CV headquarters since 2018-19, when Carlton and Geelong both scored more than 400.

Asked about the deck, Anderson said: “Ideally, we would have liked to have a bit more of a contest between bat and ball.’’

St Kilda’s Will Lovell batted for 131 balls and made 22 after going in as nightwatchman near the end of day one. Picture: Andrew Batsch

Compulsory closure applied in the lead-up finals, with teams allowed to bat a maximum of 106 overs.

Former Test player and St Kilda captain Rob Quiney, who called the match for Cricket Victoria’s livestream, paid tribute to both teams, saying St Kilda batted resolutely and Carlton’s effort in the field was unwavering.

He said he could not remember the last draw in a Premier Cricket grand final.

“Compulsory closure has only come around in two grand finals, so let’s take a look at the last 30, 40 years as data and look where it sits,’’ he said.

“If there’s a growing trend of games going the way people don’t want them to go, then we’ve got a discussion. But I don’t see that trend.’’

It was St Kilda’s first premiership in 19 years, and the flag went with the club championship it won for its performances across all four grades.

Test player Harris won the John Scholes Medal as player of the match after his innings of 161.

Glenn Lalor, who played in St Kilda’s four consecutive flags from 2002 to 2006, coached the Saints to the premiership.

Originally published as ‘Putrid’: grand final rules under fire after St Kilda run feast in Premier Cricket final