Budding spinner turning heads

In the space of three months, Lloyd Pope has stamped himself as one of the brightest young talents in the country.

The South Australian leg-spinner, who only turned 17 a couple of weeks ago, has shown of his big bag of tricks to confound and dismiss the country’s best under-17 and under-19 batsmen.

Pope was the leading wicket-taker at the Under 17 National Championships in October, claiming 18 wickets at an average of 14.67 for SA, before picking up 21 wickets at 16.33 for the Cricket Australia XI to be the leading wicket-taker at the Under 19 National Championships in Adelaide.

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“I’m on top of the world – it feels pretty good,” Pope said.

“I guess it’s just the hard work I’ve done over the season, and it helps when you have good teammates as well taking catches for you and things like that.”

With a thick mane of red hair, Pope already stands out in a crowd – but it’s his cricketing exploits in particular that have stood out most in recent months.

So much so, that the young leggie has been able to work with none other than the great Shane Warne.

“John Davison met with me and said, ‘Do you want to meet up with Warnie out on the (Adelaide) Oval?’ Pope said.

“Obviously I said yes.

“For about half-an-hour out on the oval, (we talked) technique, tips and things like that - it was really good to get his say on the game, really helpful.

“I bowled a couple of overs to him, and he had a few tips and tricks on how to get the ball spinning up and landing the balls in the right areas, and I definitely implemented those strategies during the carnival.”

A product of the Kensington CC in Adelaide, Pope picked up two six-wicket hauls during the Under 19 National Championships, finishing with figures of 6-21 against South Australia, and 6-29 against Queensland.

In the final game of the carnival, Pope picked up another three against his home state.

That perhaps highlights his quality – he finished with figures of 9-53 across two innings against the players who see his crafty variations on a regular basis.

“I try to hit the stumps. I guess that’s how I bowl, and using my wrong ‘un,” Pope said.

“It really depends on the game and the batsmen, so with wrong ‘uns and variations and things like that, I just try to hit the stumps and contain runs.

“Consistency has been the key for me recently. 

“The first couple of games I wasn’t too consistent, and I didn’t take too many wickets, so against SA I pitched the ball up a bit more and got it turning and that’s where the wickets came through. It happened again against Queensland which was good.”

The next assignment for Pope is a return to club cricket – and no doubt Kensington will be pleased to get him back – but the ambitious teen has his sights set high for a cricketing career.

“I just want to keep it simple, keep taking wickets for my grade club and see where it goes,” Pope said.

“To play for Australia at the highest level (is the goal), that’s basically it, and to try to aim for the next (under-19s) World Cup.”

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