Teenager Lloyd Pope named in Redbacks squad for Sheffield Shield opener against NSW
SOUTH Australian teenage leg-spin sensation Lloyd Pope has described his Sheffield Shield selection for the season opener against NSW as “a dream come true’’.
SOUTH Australian teenage leg-spin sensation Lloyd Pope has described his Sheffield Shield selection as “a dream come true’’.
And on Friday he took his mum Jocelyn to lunch to celebrate.
Nine months after making international headlines by taking a remarkable 8/35 to spin Australia’s under-19s to a stunning World Cup quarter-final win against England, Pope has been named in the Redbacks’ 12-player squad for their opening Shield clash of the summer against New South Wales at Adelaide Oval, starting on Tuesday.
“This is the best thing in the world for me,’’ said the flame-haired spinner, whose 8/35 were the best figures in under-19 World Cup history.
“It’s something that I’ve always striven and worked so hard for, to get that baggy red cap.
“Obviously I’ve still got to get in the final XI but hopefully the call goes my way and I do get to play. It would be a special moment.’’
Pope, 18, has been in the Australian pathway system for years and made his Futures League debut for the Redbacks this week, taking three wickets in the innings and 53-run thumping of Victoria at the new Karen Rolton Oval.
He was told of his Shield call-up by SACA high performance manager Tim Nielsen on the final day of the game on Thursday.
“It was an exciting moment,’’ Pope said.
A first grade player for Kensington, Pope’s former SA under-19 legspinning teammate Tom O’Connell, who controversially moved to Victoria in the off-season after being offered a three-year contract by the Vics, made his JLT One-Day Cup debut last month.
The Futures League match was Pope's first four-day contest and he said he hopes it helps prepare him for Shield cricket.
“It was a different experience but fun to be part of,’’ he said.
“I’ve spent a lot of the winter working more on my stock ball for red-ball cricket, so hopefully I go okay.’’
Pope said his mum and dad, Myles — who helped transform him from a young medium-pacer to elite leggie — were equally ecstatic with his first-class call-up.
“They asked me where do we need to fly to and I’m like, don’t worry, it’s at Adelaide Oval,’’ Pope joked.
Regular Redbacks legspinner Adam Zampa is unavailable for Shield selection due to his commitments with the Australian Twenty20 squad, along with wicketkeeper/batsman Alex Carey.
Jake Lehmann will captain SA for the first time in first-class cricket while Travis Head is with the Australian Test team.
Jake’s dad Darren captained SA in 55 Sheffield Shield matches from 1996/2007.
Pacemen Daniel Worrall and Spencer Johnson remain sidelined with back injuries that kept them out of the JLT Cup.
SA squad: Jake Lehmann (c), Tom Cooper, Callum Ferguson, Conor McInerney, Joe Mennie, Harry Nielsen, Lloyd Pope, Kane Richardson, Chadd Sayers, Cameron Valente, Jake Weatherald, Nick Winter.