The 2015–16 Sheffield Shield season was the 114th season of the Sheffield Shield, the Australian domestic first-class cricket competition. The season began after the conclusion of the Matador BBQs One-Day Cup, and included a break halfway through to allow for the Big Bash League. Trials for day/night Tests with a pink ball continued, having been introduced during the previous season. All of the matches for rounds one and seven of the tournament were played as day/night games. Victoria won their second consecutive title, defeating South Australia by 7 wickets in the final at Gliderol Stadium. Travis Head was named player of the series for his 721 runs and 9 wickets during the season. Ben Dunk of Tasmania was the leading run-scorer, while Joe Mennie from South Australia took the most wickets.
Round-Robin stage
Note: Results listed are according to the home (horizontal) and visitor (vertical) teams., Note: Click on a result to see a summary of the match.
Round 1
New South Wales won the toss and elected to bat. , Bonus Points: South Australia 1.50, New South Wales 2.10
Queensland won the toss and elected to bat. , Travis Dean (Victoria) made his first-class debut. , Travis Dean became the first player in Shield history to score two centuries on debut, and the first player in first-class cricket to score two unbeaten centuries on debut. , Bonus Points: Victoria 1.70, Queensland 1.10
Tasmania won the toss and elected to field. , Jake Doran (Tasmania) made his first-class debut. , Bonus Points: Tasmania 0.50, Western Australia 2.20
Round 2
New South Wales won the toss and elected to bat. , Play was reduced to just 10 overs on Day 1 and just 24 overs on Day 2 due to rain and a wet outfield. , The match was abandoned on Day 3 due to unsafe playing conditions. Under Law 7.2 in the Cricket Playing Conditions, Cricket Australia ruled that New South Wales had forfeited the match, and Victoria was awarded the 6 points for a win. , Jay Lenton (New South Wales) made his first-class debut.
Western Australia won the toss and elected to bat. , Bonus Points: South Australia 1.50, Western Australia 1.60
Tasmania won the toss and elected to bat. , Sam Heazlett (Queensland) made his first-class debut. , Sam Heazlett scored his maiden first-class century. , Bonus Points: Tasmania 1.50, Queensland 0.40
Round 3
Queensland won the toss and elected to field. , Billy Stanlake (Queensland) made his first-class debut. , The start of play on Day 1 was delayed by 90 minutes due to rain and ended early due to bad light. , Bonus Points: Queensland 2.50, South Australia 0.50
Victoria won the toss and elected to bat. , Aaron Ayre (Victoria) made his first-class debut. , Bonus Points: Victoria 2.70, Western Australia 0.49
Tasmania won the toss and elected to bat. , With the previous Sheffield Shield match at the Sydney Cricket Ground being abandoned because of an unsafe pitch, the fixture was moved to the Bankstown Oval. , The start of play on Day 1 was delayed by 75 minutes and ended after just 36 overs due to rain. , Bonus Points: New South Wales 1.68, Tasmania 2.40
Round 4
Western Australia won the toss and elected to field. , Joel Paris (Western Australia) made his first-class debut. , Bonus Points: Western Australia 1.50, Victoria 2.80
Tasmania won the toss and elected to field. , Bonus Points: Tasmania 0.90, South Australia 4.00
Queensland won the toss and elected to bat. , Bonus Points: New South Wales 2.03, Queensland 1.82
Round 5
South Australia won the toss and elected to field. , Rain delayed play by 90 minutes after tea and ended play early on Day 2. , Bonus Points: Victoria 1.50, South Australia 1.50
Western Australia won the toss and elected to field. , Rain reduced Day 1 to just 76 overs of play. , Bonus Points: Western Australia 2.30, Tasmania 1.60
Queensland won the toss and elected to bat. , Bonus Points: Queensland 0.68, New South Wales -0.03
Round 6
Victoria won the toss and elected to field. , Rain reduced Day 1 to just 71 overs of play. , Sam Harper and Ian Holland (both Victoria) made their first-class debuts. , Bonus Points: Victoria 2.21, Tasmania 1.91
Western Australia won the toss and elected to field. , This was the first game in Australian domestic cricket history to be played outside of Australia. , Bonus Points: New South Wales 1.57, Western Australia 1.57
Queensland won the toss and elected to bat. , Bonus Points: South Australia 1.65, Queensland 3.23
Round 7
New South Wales won the toss and elected to bat. , Bonus Points: Western Australia 1.86, New South Wales 0.94
Tasmania won the toss and elected to bat. , Chris Hartley (Queensland) broke the record for the most catches taken by a wicket-keeper in Sheffield Shield history (500). , Bonus Points: Queensland 3.23, Tasmania 2.39
Victoria won the toss and elected to bat. , Cameron Valente (South Australia) made his first-class debut. , Bonus Points: South Australia 1.74, Victoria 2.75
Round 8
New South Wales won the toss and elected to field. , Arjun Nair (New South Wales) and Jake Weatherald (South Australia) both made their first-class debuts. , Bonus Points: New South Wales 1.61, South Australia 2.48
Queensland won the toss and elected to field. , Bonus Points: Western Australia 1.28, Queensland 1.18
Tasmania won the toss and elected to field. , Bonus Points: Tasmania 3.09, Victoria 0.50
Round 9
New South Wales won the toss and elected to field. , Harry Conway (New South Wales) made his first-class debut. , Bonus Points: Tasmania 1.92, New South Wales 2.21
Victoria won the toss and elected to field. , Bad light ended play early on Day 1. , Bonus Points: Queensland 1.50, Victoria 1.50
South Australia won the toss and elected to field. , Josh Nicholas (Western Australia) made his first-class debut. , Bonus Points: Western Australia 2.35, South Australia 1.80
Round 10
Western Australia won the toss and elected to field. , Jhye Richardson (Western Australia) made his first-class debut. , Bonus Points: Queensland 1.00, Western Australia 1.82
Tasmania won the toss and elected to bat. , Elliot Opie (South Australia) and Caleb Jewell (Tasmania) both made their first-class debuts. , Bonus Points: South Australia 2.96, Tasmania 1.50
New South Wales won the toss and elected to bat. , Bonus Points: Victoria 1.51, New South Wales 2.44
Final
South Australia won the toss and elected to bat. , Victoria became the first visiting team to win a Sheffield Shield final since New South Wales in 2004-05.
