Pope ponders a possible turn with England

Lloyd Pope's name has been well known to England cricket authorities since that January afternoon at Queenstown in 2018 when he spun Australia to a most improbable win at the under-19 World Cup.

But what they might not know about the 20-year-old leg spinner from Adelaide (via Melbourne and Cairns) is that he holds a British passport by dint of his mother, Jocelyn's, English birth.

Furthermore, the spin bowling prodigy has indicated he would consider pulling on the uniform of Australia's Ashes enemy if his boyhood ambition to represent his country of birth at Test cricket fails to materialise.

Pope has never set foot on an English cricket field, with his playing experience outside Australia limited to under-age tours to India and Sri Lanka.

That was due to change this northern summer after the spinner signed to play in the Hertfordshire Cricket League with Bishop's Stortford, a market town around 50km north of London.

It's a club where fellow spinners Chris Green (Sydney Thunder), Jason Floros and Matthew Kuhnemann (Brisbane Heat) as well as cricketer-turned-AFL-footballer Alex Keath have previously played.

"I was going to play some club cricket over there and just keep rolling the arm over during our winter," Pope told cricket.com.au.

"The idea was basically to play some competitive cricket because I find that's the best way to learn, just to play games.

"But as the (global pandemic) crisis grew bigger, that plan went down the drain.

"At some stage I'd be really happy to go over to England and use that dual passport that I'm lucky enough to have."

Jocelyn Pope was travelling in Australia and met her future husband, Myles, when their paths crossed on Melbourne's suburban tennis circuit in the 1990s.

They then shifted to Queensland with their only child for business reasons, before the family returned to Myles's former hometown of Adelaide where Lloyd completed his schooling at Pulteney Grammar.

Jocelyn's heritage means Lloyd is eligible to play for England should he decide that's where his cricket future lies, under a similar scenario faced by former Australia captain and the world's top-ranked Test batter, Steve Smith.

Smith's mother, Gillian, was also born in England and when her teenage son (then predominantly a leg-spin bowler) quit school in the hope of forging a cricket career, he chose to play league cricket with Sevenoaks Vine in Kent and was quickly offered a contact with county outfit Surrey.

Despite the lure of a three-year deal and the chance to earn significantly more money than his rookie contract with New South Wales afforded, Smith has since revealed he never seriously entertained the option of playing in (and potentially for) England.

Pope is similarly certain that if he is to ascend to senior international ranks, he wants it to be in the green and gold livery of his birth nation.

But he is also sufficiently pragmatic to concede if the opportunity to represent Australia does not arise, then he would be foolish not to consider all available options including England.

"Mum has jokingly said that, because she's pretty strong about her English heritage," Pope said about the prospect of pursuing a playing career in England who have fielded only one Test leg spinner (Adil Rashid) with more than 20 wickets in the past half a century.

"It's definitely not something I'd ever say no to.

"To play international cricket for anyone would be an awesome experience.

"At this stage, while I'm playing for the Redbacks, I'm aspiring to be an Australian cricketer.

"So at the moment, I'd love to put a Baggy Green on my head but who knows what's going to come down the track?"

As if to underscore the uncertainty of these times, not only have events of recent months scuttled Pope's plans to further hone his craft in England, he is now preparing to singlehandedly shoulder South Australia's spin bowling burden in the coming southern summer.

The loss of fellow leggie Adam Zampa (to New South Wales) and left-arm orthodox spinner Tom Andrews (Tasmania) during the off-season sees Pope as the only specialist spinner in the Redbacks' squad despite having played just five first-class and two domestic one-day matches.

However, as with his international cricket, Pope is prepared to bide his time even when it comes to trying out his leg breaks on the traditionally seamer-friendly pitches of England.

"That's a great thing about being 20," he said.

"There's always next year …or the one after that."