Northside cricket young gun seeking Irish cap with Shane Warne’s approval

Cricket young gun Joshua Pope grew up two blocks away from the late Shane Warne and some of the master’s magic appears to have rubbed off.

Joshua Pope bowling for the Brisbane North Under-14s representative cricket side earlier this year.

Cricket young gun Joshua Pope grew up two blocks away from the late Shane Warne and some of the master’s magic appears to have rubbed off.

The aspiring Marist College Ashgrove First XI all-rounder will seek an Irish cap with Warne’s approval from above this Friday when he begins his venture to Belfast for the Ireland Under 17 Provincial Championships.

QUEENSLAND CRICKET’S NEW ACADEMY; AUSSIE 19s SELECTIONS

The 14-year-old junior ace from Valley District Cricket Club has been selected by Cricket Ireland for their Provincial Carnival on July 8-11, which acts as a selection competition for the International Under-15 and Under-17 sides.

Pope, from The Gap, is a left-arm wrist spinner and plays his shots with aggression. He is passionate about the spin bowling craft just like “Warnie”, his childhood hero and inspiration.

Warne lived a boundary throw away from where Josh grew up in Blackrock, Melbourne, with Brad Hodge also close by.

“He (Warne) lived two blocks away from me in Melbourne and we used to talk together... he was actually part of the reason I kept on bowling spin,” said Joshua.

Joshua Pope (back, middle) and Shane Warne at the Gabba in 2019.

Joshua will travel as a representative for the Shane Warne Legacy which will conduct health checks for stadium spectators.

There will be a celebration of the Spin King in Belfast to mark 23 years since Warne played there for the Australians against Ireland in 2001, with fellow Victorian Hodge.

“To celebrate that we will be partnering up with the Shane Warne Legacy to give a SiSU heart health monitor in the Belfast Stadium, to give the Irish public a chance to get their health checked,” Joshua said.

Former Test spinner Nathan Hauritz, Pope’s Valley’s mentor, said: “It’s an incredible legacy that Warnie’s kids (Summer, Jackson and Brooke) have created after what happened to Shane and how it has gone full circle from Shane’s first game there 23 years ago.”

Joshua Pope and Nathan Hauritz at Valleys District Cricket Club.

Joshua, Brisbane North’s top scoring batter this year, will warm his engines before the Provincial Championships playing for Ampthill and Cople cricket clubs in the Bedfordshire County Cricket League, the competition English cricketing greats Alistair Cook and Graeme Swann and English international Monty Panesar started their stellar careers in.

“It’s going to be how quickly he can settle down, how much of an opportunity he gets... I think he has the skills and mental aspect to handle it,” said Hauritz, also Ireland’s red ball spin coach last year.

Joshua qualifies due to his father Philip’s Irish heritage.

Pope, a Grade 9 student at Marist College Ashgrove, started the ball rolling for his prized journey by asking his dad Philip whether he had an Irish passport and whether that could open the door to playing for Ireland.

He was interested in Queensland’s Taverners Under-17s representative competition earlier this summer but was born three days too late.

Helen Nolan, CEO of Shane Warne Legacy, expressed gratitude to Cricket Ireland and SiSU Health for their support.

“It’s exciting to bring the Shane Warne Legacy Heart Health Checks to the UK, to Belfast, where Shane played for the Australians 23 years ago,” said Nolan.

“We are so proud of the difference these screening events are making to people’s lives and we’re reaching people who had no idea they were walking around with these issues.

“It’s great that Joshua, who knew Shane when he was younger, will be representing the Shane Warne Legacy in Belfast during the Ireland Under-17 Provincial Championships.”