South Australia's coach outlines trophy ambitions and addresses complacency concerns ahead of the 2026-27 Sheffield Shield campaign.
South Australia will enter the 2026-27 domestic season with expectations at an all-time high after establishing themselves as one of the strongest teams in Australian domestic cricket. Coach Ryan Harris has made it clear that reaching the final is the minimum target, with the team aiming to add more silverware to their recent success.
South Australia have enjoyed a remarkable turnaround in recent seasons after previously being considered one of the weaker sides in Australian domestic cricket. They have now won back-to-back Sheffield Shield titles and also lifted the One Day Cup.
The team has further strengthened its squad with the additions of Jake Weatherald, who returned from Tasmania, and Matthew Gilkes, who joined from New South Wales. However, Harris is particularly excited about the progress made by Jake Fraser-McGurk and Mackenzie Harvey.
“We’re definitely after trophies, to sit back and not be in any of the finals – that to me means a fail. We strengthened our squad, we got more depth with Weatherald (returning from Tasmania) and Matthew Gilkes coming from NSW," Harris was quoted as saying by The West Australian.
“We’ve got guys who have got better from last year in Mackenzie Harvey and Jake Fraser-McGurk, and we’ve got a couple of young guys as well who have improved. One of our rookies, Douwtjie Hoogenboezem, who came from WA, he’s got better, we’ve got more depth. If we’re not pushing for trophies, that to me in my mind would probably be a failure," he added.
South Australia determined to avoid slow start
South Australia did not have the ideal beginning to their Sheffield Shield campaign last season, losing their opening two matches. However, Harris and his coaching staff quickly identified the problem and addressed the issue within the group.
The team subsequently went unbeaten from the middle of October until the end of the campaign and eventually secured another Shield title.
“Last year was a lesson for me, we didn’t have a great start, there was a little bit of frustration that crept into the group,” Harris said. “I sort of identified that with our coaching staff and we hit it head on. We chatted to the group about it, it wasn’t just going to happen. We’re aware of that, everyone now knows what the feeling of winning (is like), it’s something we want to maintain," Harris noted.
“We’re making sure we’re talking about it and if I see something players aren’t doing, I call them out, and players are doing the same thing – they’ll call each other out too. There isn’t a massive focus, but it sits in the background that we’re making sure we’re getting better.”
Ryan Harris backs Jake Fraser-McGurk to push for red-ball spot
Harris is also expecting strong competition for places within the South Australian squad, particularly among the batting group. One player who has impressed the coach during pre-season is Fraser-McGurk.
The explosive batter has worked extensively on his game during the winter and is now hoping to establish himself across both red-ball and white-ball cricket.
“(Fraser-McGurk) has been excellent this pre-season, he’s matured a lot this winter and worked very, very hard on his game,” Harris said.
“The reason he’s not playing the Second XI game is he tweaked a muscle in his foot in the one-day game against Tassie, so we had to pull him out last minute here. He’s been around this winter, he’s had time to work on his game with our batting coach Steven Stubbings. As I said, he’s shown a lot of maturity in his game and as a person, he’s got himself extremely fit and extremely strong."
“He’s pushing again, he wants to play red-ball cricket. He’s another one we’ve got to try and find spots for all these batters. He played really well in the one-day game. I just watched him bat in the nets, he’s batting very, very well. I see him, hopefully, depending on how he goes, getting himself into the red-ball team at some stage, but his white-ball form is really good," he concluded.
South Australia will return to Junction Oval on Wednesday, October 7, to take on Victoria in a rematch of last season's Sheffield Shield final.