CA National Umpire Panel (NUP) members Mike Graham-Smith and Sam Nogajski will stand on-field in the season decider between Western Australia and Victoria at the WACA Ground in Perth this week. Fellow NUP member Donovan Koch is appointed Third Umpire for the Final whilst National Match Referee Panel (NRP) member Kepler Wessels will oversee proceedings as Match Referee. Graham-Smith has been appointed to his first Marsh Sheffield Shield Final following an impressive 2022-23 Domestic and International season. Graham-Smith was appointed to the recent CommBank Women’s International series featuring Australia and Pakistan and has fulfilled a full domestic summer in all men’s competitions. Last season, Graham-Smith was appointed on-field to the Marsh One Day Cup Final between Western Australia and New South Wales at the Junction Oval in Melbourne.
For fellow Tasmanian Nogajski, this year’s Final will be his fifth consecutive appointment to the Marsh Sheffield Shield decider. In doing so, Nogajski joins an elite group of five previous Australian Umpires to stand in the Marsh Sheffield Shield Final. The Marsh Sheffield Shield Final also represents a rare ‘three-peat’ for Nogajski who this season was appointed on-field to the KFC BBL12 and Marsh One Day Cup Finals. For Third Umpire Koch, this will be his second appointment as TV Umpire having fulfilled the role in the 2020-21 Final. Koch was also appointed on-field to last season’s Final between the same two competing states also at the WACA Ground. Match Referee Kepler Wessels will officiate his first Marsh Sheffield Shield Final but brings with him plenty of Final experience having previously played in the 1984-84 and 1985-86 editions for Queensland. Wessels also oversaw the recent Marsh One Day Cup Final won by Western Australia over South Australia, also at the WACA Ground.
Marsh Sheffield Shield Final
Western Australia v Victoria – 23-27 March 2023, WACA Ground Perth
Umpires: Mike Graham-Smith & Sam Nogajski
Third Umpire: Donovan Koch
Match Referee: Kepler Wessels
Scorers: Sue Rodgers & Sandy Wheeler
Appointment Summary can be found here.