He is the red-headed leg-spinner everybody is talking about as a future star of Australian cricket. So why isn't Lloyd Pope playing in a game designed for Australian cricket's future stars?
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The Prime Minister's XI has lost two of its biggest drawcards ahead of a 50-over day-night clash with South Africa at Manuka Oval on Wednesday.
Australian capped-duo Nic Maddinson and Gurinder Sandhu are out, paving the way for two more players to make their mark in a game that has effectively turned into a development pathway.
But, a day after his exceptional wrong'un was beamed around the nation after Pope captured a seven-wicket haul in the Sheffield Shield, the 18-year-old cult hero is not one of them.
Pope is an easy avenue to make the Prime Minister's XI great again. Cricket has such good stories to tell, so why aren't we capitalising?
Just this week I spent my entire Tuesday at Chisholm Oval to watch Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins turn out for the ACT/NSW Country Comets against Western Australia's second XI in a Futures League clash.
I watched the pair of them sign autographs and pose for photos with kids, while Hazlewood earned high praise from Comets coach Kyle Piper after he carried drinks for two hours in the early stages of the match.
It would be easy for a player of his stature to think he is above carrying drinks at all when he suits up for a Futures League team he may not return to ever again - but Hazlewood didn't.
These are the stories Cricket Australia needs to be selling as the game finds its feet following a period the governing body would love to forget.
Cricket Australia is looking to rebuild its reputation following a horrific year marred by the ball tampering scandal at Newlands and the ugly pay dispute.
Players like Cummins, Hazlewood and Pope are the perfect players to rebuild that image. Pope could help to restore the Prime Minister's XI fixture as a marquee event during summer in Canberra.
For now that responsibility rests with the likes of Queensland duo Sam Heazlett and Blake Edwards, who have been added to the Prime Minister's XI squad in place of Maddinson (hamstring injury) and Sandhu (withdrawn by Tasmania).
Heazlett turned heads when he made his one-day international debut last year despite being a relative unknown to even the most ardent cricket fans.
Edwards is a 19-year-old rookie-listed bowler from Queensland that played for the Australian under 19s last year.
The fixture now boasts three players with international experience in captain George Bailey, Canberra product Jason Behrendorff, and Heazlett. The rest are players identified as the next generation of stars.
Gone are the days of an Australian legend coming out of retirement to lead the team. Seemingly gone are the days of Canberra fans turning out in droves to see an international side bearing the brunt of a shootout between Australian hopefuls.
There is no doubt the fixture has lost its crown as Canberra cricket's showpiece event given Manuka Oval could now host an international and a BBL game every summer.
This year alone it is part of a blockbuster summer opened by the Australian women's team and closed by Canberra's maiden Test match between Australia and Sri Lanka from February 1.
Throw two Big Bash League games in the mix with WBBL, Sheffield Shield and WNCL games, and the Prime Minister's XI is wedged in Canberra's biggest summer of history.
But I know some fans have prioritised the BBL over the Prime Minister's XI game this year, marking the first time for the best part of 15 years they haven't gone to see the annual fixture.
The Sydney Thunder are making inroads in the capital just as ACT government and Cricket Australia are coming to the end of a four-year agreement to host men's internationals in Canberra.
Cricket ACT and the ACT government are in talks to renew its four-year deal with Cricket Australia to ensure Canberra's historic first Test this February isn't a one-off.
But if nothing is struck before the next summer of cricket rolls around, the Prime Minister's XI could again become Canberra's showpiece event.
The problem is, nobody knows where it fits in the grand scheme of Australian cricket.
Even Allan Border has said the fixture has been in danger of losing all relevance after losing its reputation as a genuine launching pad for higher honours.
The fixture is dictated by the schedules of the touring nations - a shift to the Twenty20 format over the past two seasons made sense, as does its return to a 50-over day-night match next week.
The one thing that can't change is Canberra's interest in the game - whether it's 50 overs or 20, the punters need to vote with their feet.
If they don't, the game flounders. Then one day, when Lloyd Pope's surge in popularity sees him naturally become Prime Minister, will the fixture even exist?
PRIME MINISTER'S XI
Wednesday, October 31: Prime Minister's XI v South Africa at Manuka Oval, 1.50pm. Tickets from Ticketek.
Prime Minister's XI squad: George Bailey (c) (Tasmania), Jason Behrendorff (Western Australia), Max Bryant (Queensland), Ben Dwarshuis (New South Wales), Jack Edwards (New South Wales), Kurtis Patterson (New South Wales), Josh Philippe (Western Australia), Usman Qadir (Western Australia), Jason Sangha (New South Wales), Sam Heazlett (Queensland), Blake Edwards (Queensland). 12th man: Tom Engelbrecht (ACT/NSW Country).
South Africa squad: Faf du Plessis (c), Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Imran Tahir, Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Chris Morris, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dale Steyn.
