Former Australian skipper George Bailey will captain the Prime Minister's XI against South Africa in the Proteas' first game on Australian shores since the infamous sandpaper scandal.
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It looms as the first step for Australian cricket to mend relationships with South Africa's national side after the ball tampering saga in Cape Town that halted the careers of Steve Smith, David Warner and Cam Bancroft.
The Prime Minister's XI fixture will be restored as a one-day match for the highly-anticipated clash against South Africa at Manuka Oval on October 31.
"I’m really excited about the opportunity to captain the Prime Minister’s XI," Bailey said.
"I’ve been fortunate enough to represent the Prime Minister’s XI on a couple of occasions during my career, and now to captain the team is a real privilege.
"Over the years, the match has provided an opportunity for some of Australia’s best emerging players to test their skills against a quality international side, and I’m sure this year will be no different.
"I’m looking forward to working with the players who get that chance this year, and taking on South Africa in front of a big crowd at Manuka Oval."
It is expected an ACT player will be named 12th man to mark the fourth consecutive season in which the Prime Minister's XI has not had a local player in the final XI.
Only once in the past decade has the Prime Minister's XI crowd figure exceeded 10,000, with last season's Twenty20 showdown against England drawing 8778 through the gates.
Bailey hopes that will change this season as he gears up for his third Prime Minister's XI appearance, having scored a century for the invitational outfit under now national coach Justin Langer in 2009.
The Prime Minister's XI clash will serve as the Proteas' lone warm-up for a three-match one-day series against Australia in November.
The series will be the source of much intrigue with a new-look Australian team led by Tim Paine set to adopt a different approach after the Cape Town saga left fans disgruntled with the national side's apparent boorish behaviour.
Cricket ACT chief executive James Allsopp sees the clash as a chance to mend relationships between the Australian team and its fans ahead of Canberra's biggest summer of cricket in history.
Canberra's elite calendar will be opened by a women's Twenty20 international when Meg Lanning leads Australia's hunt for a clean sweep against New Zealand on Friday.
The WNCL, Sheffield Shield and Big Bash League are all set to grace Manuka Oval before the summer is brought to a close with Canberra's maiden Test match between Australia and Sri Lanka on February 1.
To give Canberra fans an even spread, the looming Prime Minister's XI clash will likely bring Australia's next generation of stars to Canberra to play under Ashes winner Bailey.
National selector and talent manager Greg Chappell has hailed Bailey as "an outstanding leader" having helped Tasmania to the domestic One-Day Cup semi-finals.
"He has a wealth of captaincy experience at international and domestic level, and continues the tradition of highly respected Australian cricketers leading this team," Chappell said.
"We anticipate the squad will, as in previous years, have a mix of experienced players and some exciting young talent, and know George will do a great job as captain."
