South Australia's drought of 29 years in the Sheffield Shield cricket competition has finally been broken, and they hope this is just the beginning, ushering in more victories. They defeated Queensland by four wickets in the final, lifting the championship trophy for the first time since the 1995/96 season.

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In the final, South Australia chased down a victory target of 270, with Jason Sangha delivering an outstanding unbeaten 126 and Alex Carey contributing a brilliant 105, ultimately helping the team win on the fourth day with a score of 6-270. South Australia also set a new record for the highest successful run chase in a Sheffield Shield final, surpassing Victoria's 2-239 against New South Wales in the 1990/91 season.

Notably, South Australia achieved the feat of winning both the Sheffield Shield and the One-Day Cup in the same season for the first time in their history. They defeated Victoria in the One-Day Cup final on March 1st. The team's newly appointed coach, Ryan Harris, stated that they are eager to win more championships. "We're going to strive to win more," Harris said. "We'll definitely enjoy this victory, but I'm already thinking about next year's competition."

In South Australia's championship-winning squad, only Carey and opening batsman Conor McInerney were born locally in South Australia. These players who broke the championship drought came from all over, converging in South Australia, the driest state in Australia. Some were discarded by other teams, while others were in mediocre form, all seeking opportunities in what was once the forgotten land of Australian cricket. Since winning the title in the 1995/96 season, South Australia has finished at the bottom of the standings 15 times, including 10 "wooden spoons" in the 13 seasons starting from 2009/10.

"It's been too long, that's history," Carey said, who had lost in the 2016 and 2017 Sheffield Shield finals. "I don't think time is running out, but I was very eager to do everything I could to help us win this year." Carey hit four triple-digit scores in five Sheffield Shield games this season and partnered with Sangha for a crucial 202-run stand on Saturday, helping South Australia recover from a precarious 3-28 situation.

Sydney-born Sangha hit the winning runs for South Australia, entering the team's legendary history. A year ago, he was told by New South Wales that he was no longer needed. "I thought my career was over," the 25-year-old said. "South Australia gave me a second chance. I really owe them everything. They saved my career." Prior to Carey and Sangha's partnership, South Australia's fast bowler Brendan Doggett also performed well, taking the best match figures in the Sheffield Shield final, 11-140.

Doggett, born in Rockhampton, Queensland, had twice won the Sheffield Shield with the Queensland Bulls and took the winning wicket in the 2021 final with his last ball in that state. "My first two were probably a bit naive," Doggett said. "Being young and in a very strong team, I probably didn't realise how hard it was to win until I came here."

Brisbane-born Nathan McSweeney, who just turned 26 three weeks ago, has now led South Australia to Sheffield Shield and One-Day Cup titles and led the Brisbane Heat to the 2023/24 BBL title. McSweeney moved to Adelaide in the 2021/22 season and felt the pressure of the Sheffield Shield championship drought. "When it's been a long time and you feel some external pressure, it makes it feel even better," he said.

South Australia withstood an extraordinary comeback from Queensland. The Bulls were bowled out for 95 in the first innings, and South Australia responded with 271. Queensland was at a disadvantage at lunch on the third day: 6-221, leading by only 45 runs. But centuries from Jack Wildermuth and Jack Clayton gave the Bulls a chance. "The Queensland spirit runs deep," Bulls captain Marnus Labuschagne said. "It's passed down through generations. We kept fighting...we found ourselves almost stealing the Sheffield Shield from South Australia."

After the game, Labuschagne said he would take a break and then head to English county cricket in hopes of regaining his best form after experiencing his worst scoring summer. Labuschagne will rejoin Glamorgan, a Welsh county team, before Australia's World Test Championship final against South Africa in June. In the 2024/25 Test cricket season, the Australian No. 3 batsman averaged 25.63, his lowest since his Test debut in 2018, and did not achieve any triple-digit scores.

"It's been a bit of a whirlwind," Labuschagne said. "I've played some really good innings here and there, I just probably haven't been able to execute as well as I would have liked." The 30-year-old's overall Test average has dropped to 46.76, and he said his dismissals in the Adelaide final summed up his summer. Labuschagne was dismissed in the first innings by a leg-side trap, caught flicking to leg gully. In the second innings, after steadily scoring 61, he was caught at deep square leg from a half-hearted short ball.

"If I was batting my best, I wouldn't be making those mistakes," he said. "There's a lot to like about the way I'm playing and how I'm going about it," he said. "But just to get back to my best, where I'm getting hundreds, I'm one of those players who just wants to keep growing and learning and constantly finding that."