The John Reid Shield returns to Hawker International Softball Complex as Softball ACT host the 2023 Open Men’s National Championships.

Four teams have made the journey to the Australian Capital Territory for the five-day tournament, with the hosts joined by New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.

The action gets underway on Wednesday from 11:00AM AEDT with openers between Queensland and New South Wales on Diamond One, and Victoria against the hosts on Diamond Two.

Each team will play each other twice in the round robin stage over the first four days, before the eliminations begin on Sunday’s final day of competition. In total, 22 games will be played over the coming days.

Numerous members of the 2022 WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup Winning Steelers’ squad will descend upon the Australian capital for the John Reid Shield, and they’ll no doubt still be jubilant after their incredible achievement in New Zealand just over a month ago.

Game one will see Callum Beashel, Jack Besgrove, Hayden Mathews and James Todhunter represent the defending champions against Queensland, who have Riley James and Julian Jemmott at their disposal.

On the other diamond, Matthew Harrow, Jay Selu and Joshua White will represent the ACT against Victoria in their opener.

For the full team lists alongside a host of other information, check out the John Reid Shield digital program.

The ACT have been the team to beat historically at the Open Men’s National Championships, but NSW brought the heat in 2022, taking a decisive 9-0 win over the 89ers in the Grand Final, losing just one game on their way to glory.

Last year’s return of the Open Men’s National Championships was filled with close games and upsets - expect the 2023 John Reid Shield to be no different!

Streaming will be available throughout the tournament and you can get regular updates and photos as they come through on Softball Australia’s social channels.

Softball Australia wishes all players, officials, statisticians, volunteers and tournament staff the best of luck for a successful tournament.

View the 2023 John Reid Shield Digital Program