Tasmania Vs Victoria: Tigers’ returns, Scott Mason memorial and a shot at the Shield Final
At Ninja Stadium in Hobart the annual Scott Mason memorial match will see the Tasmanian Tigers face Victoria in a contest framed by history and a possible path to the Sheffield Shield Final — a straight-up showdown of tasmania vs victoria with selection, recovery and a memorial medal all in focus.
Tasmania Vs Victoria: Scott Mason Memorial Match
The fixture, designated the Scott Mason memorial match, will be played at Ninja Stadium, Hobart, with first ball scheduled at 10: 30 am (AEDT). This match is an annual encounter for Cricket Tasmania and carries the added meaning of Winston Mason presenting a Medal to the match’s best performer in tribute to his son, the late Scott Mason. The contest forms part of the late stages of the 2025–26 Sheffield Shield season, with Victoria already having secured a home Shield Final.
Match details listed for the fixture are Tasmanian Tigers vs Victoria, Thursday 5 March – Sunday 8 March 2026, Ninja Stadium, Hobart, First ball: 10: 30 am (AEDT). Cricket Australia respectfully acknowledges the Traditional custodians of the land, and the match notes the Walkabout Wickets artwork by Kirrae Whurrong artist Fiona Clarke, which represents cricket stars past, present and future and the places where they play.
Big names to bolster Tigers’ Shield hopes
Tasmania’s selection for this match reflects key returns that reshape the team’s immediate prospects. Kieran Elliott, last season’s Scott Mason Medallist, is back in the squad after recovering from an injury that sidelined him for recent Shield matches. Tigers skipper Jordan Silk has recovered from a cracked shoulder suffered earlier in Perth and is available for the match and the One Day Cup Final next week. Matt Kuhnemann returns to the squad after the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka and could play his first Shield match since the BBL break, providing left-arm spin overs for Tasmania.
The Tasmanian 12‑man squad named for the match against Victoria lists: Jordan Silk (C), Gabe Bell, Jackson Bird, Jake Doran, Kieran Elliott, Caleb Jewell, Matt Kuhnemann, Riley Meredith, Charlie Wakim, Tim Ward, Beau Webster, Jake Weatherald. Players omitted from this match are Nikhil Chaudhary, Raf MacMillan, Aidan O’Connor and Mitch Owen.
With Victoria already assured of a home Shield Final, the immediate sporting arithmetic is clear: two wins for Tasmania could give them the opportunity to take part in their first final since the 2023–24 season against Western Australia. The return of experienced campaigners and a medallist back in Elliott are positioned as practical responses to that challenge.
What is at stake and the memorial’s human legacy
The match combines competitive stakes with a human story. For Cricket Tasmania the Scott Mason memorial fixture is significant beyond the points table: Winston Mason’s presentation of a Medal in memory of Scott Mason ties performance on the field to a family and community remembrance. The inclusion of Walkabout Wickets artwork by Aunty Fiona Clarke, who is a descendant of James ‘Mosquito’ Couzens and Jonny Couzens of the 1868 touring team, layers cultural memory and artistic recognition into the match day.
On the field, the squad adjustments and returns speak to the Tigers’ immediate sporting response; off it, the memorial framing reinforces why the fixture matters to players, administrators and families. The combination of on-field opportunity — a route back into Shield Final contention — and off-field commemoration shapes the match as both a contest and an observance.
Back at Ninja Stadium, where the Scott Mason memorial match will be contested, Tasmania and Victoria prepare not only for runs and wickets but for the small, deliberate rituals that make this encounter more than another fixture. As players take the field, the Tasmanian list and the presence of the Medal will fold the competitive and the commemorative into a single weekend — one more chapter in the conversation that is tasmania vs victoria.
