Bishop’s Stortford is delighted to announce the signing of Australian sensation, Lloyd Pope, for their 2020 Hertfordshire League campaign.
Pope demolishes England
Lloyd Pope shot to prominence in Queenstown in 2018 when he demolished England with figures of 8 for 32, the best figures ever produced in an Under-19 World Cup.
Nearly 25 years after England were first shocked by Shane Warne’s Ball of the Century, another Australian leg spinner, it seemed, had appeared to haunt them. Needing only 128 to win, England managed only 96. Unsurprisingly, Pope finished the tournament as Australia’s leading wicket-taker with 11 dismissals.
…. then breaks Shield record
Pope was instantly watchable: the straggly, flowing red hair, the plentiful confidence, and the leg-spin repertoire that has befuddled countless batsmen in Australian junior ranks – all of which helped earn the “Wizard” nickname.
He took up wrist spin while “mucking around” with his dad in Cairns as an eight-year-old, two years before the family moved to Adelaide. It was there that he broke into South Australia’s Under-17 and Under-19 team and joined Kensington, the Adelaide grade club that was once the home not only of Don Bradman but also Clarrie Grimmett, Australia’s relentlessly wily leg spinner of the 1920s and ’30s.
Following the Under-19 World Cup, Pope was swiftly fast-tracked to the Redbacks squad and made his first-class debut in October 2018. Later that month, the tweaker broke another record by becoming the youngest bowler to take a 7-wicket haul in a Sheffield Shield game, taking 7 for 87 against Queensland in only his second first-class match.
… and takes a further 5 against Pakistan
In December 2018, he made his Big Bash debut for the Sydney Sixers, then List A debut for South Australia in September 2019 in the Marsh One-Day Cup. He recently took figures of 5 for 100 for the Cricket Australia XI against the touring Pakistani’s in Perth (Nov 2019).
Pope signs for Bishop’s
Pope is quite the prospect who is pushing for regular Redbacks inclusion this summer. Thereafter, the British Passport holding spinner is set to embark on his maiden UK league stint in 2020 having recently signed with Hertfordshire League club Bishop’s Stortford, following in the footsteps of fellow Australian State players including Chris Green, Jason Floros, Alex Keath, and Matthew Kuhnemann who have featured for the club in recent years.
Bishop’s Stortford 1st XI skipper, Tommy Burslem, stated the following:
‘We’re delighted to have Lloyd join us for our campaign next year. He’s a young player with an already proven quality at the top level and will be a valuable addition to the club.’
