Mitch Owen and Mac Wright go down with injury in Tasmania’s run home to potential Sheffield Shield final

Tasmania’s road to a potential home Sheffield Shield final has hit a roadblock ahead of Friday’s clash against Western Australia.

Tasmania’s road to a potential Sheffield Shield final at Bellerive Oval has hit its first roadblock following injuries to two key players during the Tigers Marsh Cup loss to Western Australia on Wednesday.

Both top-order batter Mac Wright and all-rounder Mitch Owen failed to bat in the Tigers 52-run loss after leaving the game with injuries suffered while fielding in the first innings.

Mac Wright is treated for an injury during the Marsh One Day Cup match between Tasmania and Western Australia at Blundstone Arena. (Photo by Steve Bell/Getty Images)

Wright suffered a knee injury, with scans set to reveal the extent of the damage later this week, while Owen left the game with a side strain.

While Wright hasn’t been a regular fixture in the four-day side this season, Owen has become a staple in the middle-order alongside fellow all-rounders Jarrod Freeman and Bradley Hope.

The Tigers will also be without in-form paceman Gabe Bell (general soreness) for the Shield clash against WA from Friday.

Bell, who currently sits third in the competition for wickets taken this season (32), said that while the injuries had come at bad time, it was a case of next-man up mentality.

“We talk about a full squad mentality a lot,” Bell said.

Mitch Owen also failed to finish the one-day game on Wednesday and will miss the Shield clash from Friday. (Photo by Steve Bell/Getty Images)

“Jeff (Tigers head coach Jeff Vaughan) speaks a lot about even if you are not in the 12 you are in the Tigers family and you can contribute in different ways, so the next guys in line will step up and do their thing.”

While the Tigers fast-bowling stocks will be down without Bell and Billy Stanlake (managed), fellow quick Riley Meredith is back and will play his first Sheffield Shield match since March 2023.

Clarence quick Kieran Elliot has also been named in the squad and could make his Shield debut following strong form in the CTPL but there still appears to be no room at the top of the order for Jake Weatherald.

Weatherald wasn’t named in the 12-man squad – despite a blistering one-day CTPL grand final century on Sunday – with Vaughan electing to stick with the same top order the Tigers have rolled out for the majority of the red ball season.

Currently sitting atop the Shield ladder, the Tigers finish their season with a three-game run at home against Western Australia, Victoria and South Australia over the next month.

Should they finish atop the ladder and earn hosting rights, it would be the first time since the 2012-13 season the final has been played in Tasmania.

While many may have written them off before the season had even began – thanks to the departure of a number of key veterans – Bell said they were always confident they had the talent from within to step up and replace the likes of Jackson Bird, Peter Siddle and Ben McDermott.

Gabe Bell has lead Tasmania’s pace attack this season and sits third in the competition for wickets taken. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

“We always set pretty high goals on the season ahead and I don’t think we ever under estimated ourselves but yeah, I think we’ve just tried to do exactly what we wanted to do and it’s paid dividends,” Bell said.

“We have three home games to finish the year and are really confident we can play really good cricket here (at Bellerive Oval). We know other teams don’t look forward to coming down here so that’s a win-win for us.”

First-ball on Friday is at 10.30am.

Tasmanian Tigers squad v WA: Jordan Silk (c), Iain Carlisle, Jake Doran, Kieran Elliot, Jarrod Freeman, Bradley Hope, Caleb Jewell, Riley Meredith, Sam Rainbird, Charlie Wakim, Tim Ward, Beau Webster