Victoria's second successive Sheffield Shield title should boost the Test cricket claims of Peter Handscomb, Marcus Stoinis and Jon Holland, says Bushrangers captain Matthew Wade.
The trio played crucial roles as Victoria wrapped up a seven-wicket victory over hosts South Australia in the final in Glenelg on Wednesday, extinguishing the Redbacks' quest for a drought-breaking first title in 20 years.
Handscomb and Stoinis scored fifth-day half-centuries as Victoria easily accounted for South Australia's second-innings target of 193.
They followed Handscomb's 112 in the first dig, where he partnered with fellow 24-year-old Travis Dean (111) in a 130-run third-wicket partnership that set up a 59-run first innings lead.
Wade believes Hanscomb and Stoinis deserve to add to the limited experience they gained within Australia's squad on last year's ODI tour of England.
"You can see when young players have got the drive to want to succeed in big games," Wade said.
"If you look at their numbers over the last three or four years then they are up there with the best players in the country."
While the final ebbed and flowed, seasoned left-arm orthodox spinner Holland proved the difference after South Australia opted to enter the match without a frontline spinner.
Getting plenty of turn and purchase out of the Gliderol Stadium wicket, he took three key wickets in South Australia's first innings total of 340, before claiming a five-wicket haul in the second.
His match-winning performance, which all but wrapped up Victoria's 30th Shield title, could not have come at a better time with Australia due to visit spin-friendly Sri Lanka for a Test tour in July and August, before heading to the turning wickets of India next March.
"We've seen it over a long period of time now in one-day cricket and now he is doing it at the first-class level," Wade said.
"The opportunities going forward for Australia, I would say he is right in the picture."
Wade was adamant the ball-tampering controversy, which had bowling coach Mick Lewis fined more than $2000 for scraping the ball on a concrete gutter and Victoria penalised five runs, would not mar the title for the players.
"We can't control that. We were on the ground," Wade said.
"It's an unfortunate incident but when I look back over my career I'm not going to be thinking about Micky Lewis in the gutter.
"I'll be thinking about the Shield that we just won."
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