Pope's lonely preparation for solo turn in the spotlight

Even allowing for his status as the only specialist spinner amid South Australia's revised bowling stocks, Lloyd Pope's preparation for the coming summer has been radically different to any previous pre-season.

Restrictions brought by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic coupled with financial cutbacks that stalled the SA Cricket Association's hunt for a new senior coach means Pope has enlisted virtual help to hone his craft in the absence of a dedicated spin mentor at the Redbacks.

But despite having to rely on feedback coming via conference calls and instant messaging chats, the 20-year-old leg spinner is buoyed by the opportunity that awaits as the sole tweaker in what SA skipper Travis Head has confirmed will be a revised Redbacks bowling strategy.

Pope has worn the title of 'next spin king' since his potent wrong-un destroyed England and set up an unlikely Australia win at the 2018 under-19 World Cup, and he broke records later that year when he claimed 7-87 against Queensland in just his second Marsh Sheffield Shield appearance.

However, the presence of national limited-overs leggie Adam Zampa and left-arm orthodox spinner (plus handy batter) Tom Andrews in the SA squad limited Pope's opportunities to five Shield games and two Marsh One Day Cup outings in Redbacks colours over the past two summers.

Zampa's return to New South Wales coupled with Andrews' surprise switch to Tasmania earlier this year not only means Pope assumes responsibility for SA's spin stocks, he's also having to find novel ways to engage with his fellow spinners.

The principal method is via a chat group that includes former Victoria leggie and Cricket Australia spin coach Craig Howard, ex-Tasmania left-arm wrist spinner Shannon Tubb (now a SACA development coach) and Redbacks bowling coach Luke Butterworth who is currently overseeing the squad's winter program.

"I don't set up a laptop with Zoom and get them to watch my bowling, but I'll film myself bowling and then send it off to a few different people," Pope told cricket.com.au this week.

"We've basically got that group chat and then we can all be on the same page and put in different ideas and how they might work, and that's how I like my bowling to improve – little bits from lots of people so I can pick and choose what I like, and then formulate my best plan from that information.

"It's been going pretty well so far.

"I've been really impressed about how efficient it's been since I'd rather have someone there coaching me."

Pope admits he prefers to refine his game by asking endless questions of past and present players at training sessions, whether during his brief encounter with Shane Warne in Adelaide several years ago or from recent teammates such as Zampa or Nathan Lyon and Steve O'Keefe (at the Sydney Sixers).

His new solo status along with coronavirus travel restrictions means he's currently denied those face-to-face chats, and he's spent much of the past month or so working on fitness as well as bowling into an empty net at SA's indoor facility at Adelaide Oval.

Pope's focus – in line with Warne's consistent advice to all budding leggies – has been perfecting his 'stock' ball to ensure he can regularly land his leg spinner, in the knowledge that his googly remains a weapon he can confidently turn to at any time.

Image Id: 381BBBCF14BF4373B99724E2CB709680 Image Caption: Nathan Lyon and Lloyd Pope teamed up with the Sixers // Getty

He's also aiming to impart more top-spin on the ball which will aid his attempts to drift his stock delivery in towards right-handed batters before it pitches and spins away, a trait that was a feature of Warne's bowling when he was at the top of his trade.

"I've been working on some wrist position stuff to try and get a bit more top spin on the ball, which I think will help in Australian conditions especially," Pope said.

"I think with my arm action and square seam position, I'm probably a bit more suited to bowling in subcontinent conditions which is interesting.

"So now I'm trying to get the ball round (in the hand) a little bit, have a little bit more top spin and then create a bit more bounce and danger out of my stock ball on Australian wickets, in all formats of cricket.

"I know if I'm bowling square seam it's not going drift as much, whereas if I'm getting that nice top spin on it then it should do enough.

"It's been a bit of a grind, doing drills off a couple of steps over and over, so I'm looking forward to getting into some competitive cricket soon."

While the schedule for domestic one-day and Shield cricket remains unknown due to the rapidly changing COVID-19 landscape, Pope is likely to play a pivotal part for the Redbacks in both formats according to his captain.

SACA will begin interviews next week to find a replacement for coach Jamie Siddons, and Head has already signalled that one of the ensuing changes will be development of a front-line spinner as a wicket-taking and runs-saving option rather than to simply provide respite for four seamers.

Former Test batter Mike Hussey has just completed an exhaustive review of SA's men's program, and a key criterion was to help deliver SA the Shield title that has eluded them for quarter of a century.

"If we want to talk about Shield finals, we need to look at the successful teams and the role spinners like Holland and Fawad (Victoria) and Lyon and O'Keefe (NSW) have played really well," Head told cricket.com.au.

"So we've got to find a way to develop Popey as best we can.

"We've shown a bit of faith in him by playing him at the back end of last season, and probably re-thinking the way we've gone about it with spin.

"It puts a bit of pressure on him, but he's still very young and we know we can't expect the world from him straight away.

"We think the best way to bring him on is to have him play more cricket rather than be sitting on the sidelines watching it and, with no second XI competition next season, it's going to be quite important for him to take the load.

"It was obviously a bit disappointing to lose the other two, Andrews and Zampa, but we think we've got enough coverage with Popey and with me taking on that role as more of a spin-bowling allrounder when I play."

Pope concedes that while Zampa's move was widely expected, the loss of Andrews – who played in SA's first four Shield matches last summer before losing his place – came as a shock.

However, the opening that creates – with Test representative Head and fellow allrounder Will Bosisto the only other experienced spin options in the 27-man Redbacks squad – has Pope excited rather than daunted.

"They didn't really come to me and say 'hey, we're looking at you as the only spinner'," Pope recalled of his discussions with SACA officials when the contract list was announced last month.

"But it shows they've got confidence in me as a bowler, or at least that's what I'm trying to take out of it.

"They've had a few chats to me since then, about there being a lot of room for opportunity.

"It doesn't mean I'm going to play every game, but it also it doesn't mean I'm not going to play every game

"So if I'm bowling well, I know I'm going to be around the mark."