After three consecutive seasons that have ended in distinctly underwhelming fashion, the enthralling Sheffield Shield final that played out over the past five days has breathed life back into the concept of a season decider and provided a blueprint for the future of the competition.

The existence of the Shield final was up for debate last October following comments from outgoing Cricket Australia chairman Wally Edwards and current CEO James Sutherland that the season finale had under-delivered since its inception 33 years ago.

The comments of Edwards and Sutherland were hardly surprising; the past three finals had ended in dour and uninspiring draws on flat pitches, delivering anti-climactic finishes to the competition and extending to 11 years the drought of visiting teams in season deciders.

But a very different story transpired in Adelaide over this Easter long weekend.

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In a match between South Australia and Victoria that see-sawed from one team to the other over 13 sessions of tense cricket, the Bushrangers chased down their victory target of 193 with seven wickets to spare inside the first hour on the final day.

Cricket Australia are expected to retain the concept of a Shield final, at least in the short term, and ESPN Cricinfo is reporting that future titles may only be awarded to the outright winner of the final as opposed to the current system where a drawn match sees the home side - the team that finished first in the regular season - named the champions.

CA's decision to retain the final would have only been strengthened by what they saw over the past five days.

A large amount of credit for the outstanding cricket that more than 11,000 fans have witnessed since Saturday must go to curator Justin Groves, who produced an evenly-grassed pitch that was neither friendly to batsmen or bowlers, but rather gave both an even chance.

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After a Test summer where highly-skilled bowlers were often reduced to simply providing fodder for run-hungry batsmen, this match provided a reminder that long-form cricket is at its best when bat and ball are engaged in an even contest.

There was something in it for everyone; the batsmen totalled two hundreds, a score of 96 and eight other half-centuries across the five days, while there was assistance for both spin (Victoria's Jon Holland claimed match figures of 8-162) and pace (Redbacks quick Dan Worrall took 6-96 in the Bushrangers' first innings).

Victoria batsman Peter Handscomb, who posted scores of 112 and 61 not out to be named man-of-the-match, commented that no batsmen could feel 'in' on the surface, particularly against the new ball.

WATCH: Handscomb, Vics fly to Shield title

As one SACA member was heard to comment on Monday: "It's real cricket".

"It's just a cracking five-day cricket wicket," Bushrangers coach David Saker said after play on Tuesday.

"For anyone who's come down to watch ... they would have loved every minute of it.

"Really big credit to the groundsman to make the wicket the way it is."

Credit too must go to South Australia, who vowed pre-game to continue the aggressive approach that has underpinned their season on a surface they predicted would produce a result, rather than play for a draw that would have secured them their first title in two decades.

Another plus for administrators was the performance of some of the future stars of Australian cricket, who delivered in the high-intensity setting of a season decider.

Chief among them was rookie Bushrangers opener Travis Dean, who joined 24-year-old Handscomb in posting a first-innings century, while Redbacks opener Jake Weatherald - playing in just his fourth first-class match - impressed in notching scores of 66 and 96.

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And with SA's Chadd Sayers suffering a lower leg injury during the match, Worrall and Joe Mennie combined to send down almost 100 overs for the home side, bowling superbly throughout.

"To put young players in a situation where there’s no next week, you can’t go out and perform next week, you have to perform on that day (and) in that game, those guys that come out and do that, when they get to the next level they’ll be able to draw back on that experience," said Victoria skipper Matthew Wade, who made an impassioned plea to retain the final.

"So that’s why at times it’s frustrating when people talk about Shield finals (that if) you finish on top you go on and win it. Well, we’ve just proved that that’s not the case.

"And the case to have young players play under pressure, Worrall and Mennie wouldn’t have bowled that many overs in a normal game.

"If the year was over, our guys wouldn’t have had to face them under pressure time and time again.

"Their bowlers, to get the experience to bowl where there’s no prizes for second, just shows that the Shield final’s a valuable game in our schedule."

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While the action on the field was engrossing, the atmosphere off it provided a glimpse into the possible future of the domestic first-class competition.

With the Adelaide Oval out of action due to the start of the AFL season, the match was shifted to the smaller Gliderol Stadium in the beachside suburb of Glenelg and a total of 11,244 fans walked through the gates over the five days.

While those numbers are dwarfed by the 80,883 people who attended the BBL Melbourne derby in January, the intimate venue resulted in a wonderful buzz around the ground throughout the match that perfectly complimented the performances of the players.

Fans of all ages spread out on the grassy banks that surround half of the ground while many more crammed into the two picturesque pavilions on the western side.

The rest spilled out of the main bar under the Edward Rix Stand, with Handscomb noting that these particular patrons made their presence known the longer each day went on.

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"South Australians have always been very kind to us, especially at the end of the day's play," he said with a grin.

"It's all good. It's all friendly banter (and) if they get a bit rowdy we're happy to let them know what we're trying to do."

An interested onlooker throughout the match was Cricket Victoria CEO Tony Dodemaide, who is helping to oversee a $40 million redevelopment of the boutique Junction Oval in Melbourne's south-east with a view to playing Shield matches there from the 2017-18 season onwards.

"I'm very impressed, I've done several laps of the ground ... through nervousness and also wanting to have a look at what they've got here," he said.

"This is a terrific arena for Shield cricket, it's an excellent atmosphere and a perfect fit for what Sheffield Shield cricket can be.

"With what we are looking for at the Junction Oval this will definitely influence it."

Saker, whose Bushrangers currently play their home matches at the mighty Melbourne Cricket Ground, where the handful of spectators who do show up can barely be seen let alone be heard, whole-heartedly agreed.

"I think this is the future for Shield cricket, the more boutique grounds," he said.

"Victoria are doing up the Junction Oval at the moment, that's probably the future of it.

"You get three or four thousand in here and it is a good feeling, you get three or four thousand at the MCG and it's not."

It's worth noting that the end of the regular season this summer added weight to a return of the first-past-the-post concept that the Shield competition used for decades before the final was introduced in 1982-83.

With four teams in contention to finish top of the table at the start of the last round, players, coaches and fans frantically chased news from the other venues as their own match transpired.

In the digital age of instant updates, such a scenario brings a unique sense of excitement that would only be heightened if the final was scrapped.

It all means that the concept of a season decider - which appears safe in the short term - will be hotly debated again and again in the years to come.

And when that time arrives, those who support the idea will undoubtedly point to the 2015-16 final as a reason for its continued inclusion.