Cricket ACT will push for a local player to feature for the Prime Minister's XI in the hope selectors can unearth a hidden gem in Canberra.
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The Prime Minister's XI has not featured a local player since then-ACT Comets batsman Matt Condon faced England in 2015.
It is a trend Cricket ACT chief executive James Allsopp is desperate to reverse against Sri Lanka at Manuka Oval on October 24.
Allsopp hopes the fixture can launch the career of a Canberra player as it did for BBL champion Jono Dean.
"We'd love to see a local player playing in the XI. We've got some really quality players playing in our local competition to choose from," Allsopp said.
"Cricket Australia and the PM's office know our view around that and we really hope we will get to see someone on the park playing alongside Peter Siddle and Dan Christian on the night.
"It just inspires our local community. There are so many great stories that have come from Canberra players playing in the PM's game and it has catapulted their career.
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"Jono Dean is a great example, he played against the West Indies a few years back and scored some runs. All of a sudden he had a really distinguished Big Bash career.
"We're hopeful there's going to be an opportunity for a local player to do that as well."
Dean scored a blistering 51 from 40 balls at the top of the order for the Prime Minister's XI to lay the platform for a 23-run win over the West Indies in 2013.
The Canberra batsman would soon play 22 Big Bash games with the Adelaide Strikers in a whirlwind journey that was rounded out by a championship triumph in February last year.
There will likely only be room for one Canberra-based player in the Prime Minister's XI to take on Sri Lanka but a window of opportunity has opened for a host of others.
A shift to the game's shortest format has paved the way for an ACT XI to face a Newcastle XI in a Twenty20 curtain-raiser to the Prime Minister's XI fixture.
The curtain-raiser mirrors those played against Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea in recent seasons.
PRIME MINISTER'S XI
Thursday, October 24: Twenty20 tour match - Prime Minister's XI v Sri Lanka at Manuka Oval, 7.10pm. Tickets from Ticketek.
Curtain-raiser - ACT XI v Newcastle XI at Manuka Oval, 2.30pm.
Caden Helmers
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
