Quick Answer
Lloyd Pope is an Australian leg spin bowler who plays for South Australia and Adelaide Strikers, best known for taking 8 wickets for 35 runs against England at the 2018 Under 19 World Cup, still the best bowling figures in the history of that tournament. He has taken 168 wickets across First-Class, List A and T20 cricket in his career so far, including 63 First-Class wickets at an average of 47.4 and 75 T20 wickets at an economy of 8.53. He has not yet played a Test, ODI or T20I for the senior Australian team, though his junior career made him one of the most talked about leg spinners Australia had produced in years.
His story is not just about one famous spell as a teenager. Pope broke a Sheffield Shield record in only his second First-Class match, spent years fighting for a regular spot in BBL squads, and eventually found his best form again back in his home state with Adelaide Strikers. This article covers his full biography and every major number from his career, taken from his most recent official career stats. You can follow all the latest cricket news and player coverage on CRIC INFO 365.
Lloyd Pope: Full Biography at a Glance
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Lloyd Aylmer James Pope (Lloyd Pope) |
| Born | 1 December 1999, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Age | 26 |
| Batting Style | Right-handed |
| Bowling Style | Right-arm leg break |
| Playing Role | Bowler |
| Nickname | The Wizard |
| International Caps | None yet (Test, ODI, T20I) |
| First-Class Debut | 16 October 2018, for South Australia |
| List A Debut | September 2019 |
| T20 Debut | December 2018, for Sydney Sixers |
| Famous For | 8/35 vs England, 2018 Under 19 World Cup, still a tournament record |
Teams Lloyd Pope Has Played For
| Team | Format / League | Years |
|---|---|---|
| South Australia Under 17s | Junior cricket | Before 2018 |
| Australia Under 19s | Youth international | 2017 to 2018 |
| Cricket Australia XI | First-Class | Early career |
| South Australia | First-Class / List A | 2017/18 to present |
| Sydney Sixers | Big Bash League (BBL) | 2018/19 to 2022/23 |
| Adelaide Strikers | Big Bash League (BBL) | 2023/24 to present |
| Northamptonshire | T20 Blast (England) | 2025 |
Pope grew up in the Adelaide Hills and plays his grade cricket for Kensington Cricket Club in Adelaide. He is known almost as much for his long, flowing red hair as for his bowling, which helped earn him the nickname “the Wizard” early in his career.
Who Is Lloyd Pope and How Did His Career Start?
Lloyd Aylmer James Pope was born on 1 December 1999 in Adelaide, South Australia. He bowls right-arm leg spin, with a wrong’un, or googly, as his key variation, and bats right-handed lower down the order.
His rise through junior cricket was fast. In 2016, he took 18 wickets at the Under 17 National Championships, and he later became the first player in Australian junior cricket history to finish as the leading wicket taker at both the Under 17 and Under 19 national carnivals. In August 2017, at just 17 years old, he signed a rookie contract with South Australia.
Then came the moment that made him a household name. On 23 January 2018, in the quarter final of the Under 19 Cricket World Cup in Queenstown, New Zealand, Pope took 8 wickets for 35 runs against England. According to Wikipedia’s detailed account of the match, Australia had only defended a modest total of 127, and England looked comfortable at 47 without loss before Pope ran through the batting line up, bowling them out for just 96. It remains the best bowling figures in the history of the Under 19 World Cup, and he finished the tournament as Australia’s leading wicket taker with 11 dismissals.
The spell drew comparisons to Shane Warne’s famous “Ball of the Century” delivery to Mike Gatting in 1993. Warne himself praised Pope publicly at the time, saying it was terrific to see and that he had enjoyed bowling with the young leg spinner in Adelaide before the tournament, according to contemporary reporting on the reaction to the spell.
What Happened After the Under 19 World Cup Spell?
Lloyd Pope’s first-class career started just as fast as his junior career had. He made his Sheffield Shield debut for South Australia on 16 October 2018, and in only his second match, against Queensland, he took 7 wickets for 87 runs. According to the South Australian Cricket Association’s official player profile, that made him the youngest bowler to take a seven-wicket haul in Sheffield Shield history, breaking a record that had stood since Doug Walters achieved the same feat at age 19.
Two years later, in October 2020, Pope added another record. He became the first leg spinner in 50 years to take a five-wicket haul on the opening day of a Sheffield Shield match, a genuinely rare feat for a spin bowler at that stage of a first-class game, when conditions usually favour seam bowlers more.
Despite this fast start, his state career did not follow a simple upward path. Progress slowed for a period, and Pope had to work his way back into regular selection rather than being handed a permanent spot on reputation alone.
What Was Lloyd Pope’s Big Bash Journey Like?
Lloyd Pope’s Big Bash career began with Sydney Sixers, starting in December 2018. His best individual campaign for the club came in the 2019-20 BBL season, when he took 10 wickets in 8 matches. Despite that form, he was left out of the Sixers’ finals side that season, with the team management choosing off spinner Nathan Lyon instead for the biggest game of the tournament, a decision that says a lot about how competitive squad selection can be even for a bowler in good form.
Lloyd Pope stayed with Sydney Sixers through the 2022-23 season before signing with Adelaide Strikers ahead of BBL|13, a move that brought him back to play in his home state alongside his Sheffield Shield side. According to cricket.com.au’s profile of his career, the signing paid off immediately. Pope took 13 wickets in a career-best BBL campaign, his most productive Big Bash season to date, and has remained a key part of the Strikers’ bowling attack since.
His form in first-class cricket has continued alongside his BBL success. In November 2024, he took 6 wickets for 74 runs in the fourth innings against Victoria, a spell that helped South Australia avoid defeat in a match that looked to be slipping away. That same summer, he was picked for the Prime Minister’s XI against a touring Indian side during Australia’s 2024-25 season, a strong signal of how highly he is regarded within Australian cricket circles even without a senior international cap.
In May 2025, Pope expanded his career overseas, signing with Northamptonshire to play in England’s T20 Blast tournament, giving him experience in another major T20 league outside the BBL.
Is Lloyd Pope Close to Playing for Australia?
This is the question most fans ask about him, and the honest answer is that he has not yet played a Test, ODI or T20I for the senior Australian team, despite being talked about as a genuine talent since he was a teenager.
Part of the reason is timing and competition. Australia has had strong depth in the wrist spin bowling department, and cracking a settled bowling attack at international level is difficult even for a bowler with Pope’s record. What is clear from his numbers is that he remains one of the most consistent wicket takers in Australian domestic cricket, with a strike rate of 17.2 in T20 cricket that ranks among the best of any specialist leg spinner in the format. Whether that translates into a national call up will likely depend on Australia’s selection needs in white ball cricket over the next few seasons, but his ongoing form makes him a name worth watching closely.
What Records and Honours Does Lloyd Pope Hold?
- Best bowling figures in Under 19 World Cup history, 8 wickets for 35 runs against England in the 2018 quarter final
- Leading wicket taker for Australia at the 2018 Under 19 World Cup, with 11 dismissals
- Youngest bowler to take a seven-wicket haul in Sheffield Shield history, with 7/87 on debut season against Queensland in 2018
- First leg spinner in 50 years to take a five-wicket haul on the opening day of a Sheffield Shield match, in October 2020
- First player in Australian junior cricket history to lead the wicket tally at both the Under 17 and Under 19 national carnivals
- Selected for the Prime Minister’s XI, against India during the 2024-25 season
What Do Lloyd Pope’s Full Career Numbers Look Like?
The figures below are taken from his most recent official career statistics, matching the latest update on his ESPNcricinfo profile.
Bowling Record
| Format | Matches | Innings | Balls | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Best Bowling | Economy | Average | Strike Rate | 4W | 5W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-Class | 23 | 41 | 4344 | 62 | 2987 | 63 | 7/87 | 4.13 | 47.4 | 69.0 | 2 | 3 |
| List A | 22 | 22 | 1075 | 3 | 1038 | 30 | 4/78 | 5.79 | 34.6 | 35.8 | 1 | 0 |
| T20 | 67 | 67 | 1290 | 0 | 1834 | 75 | 4/22 | 8.53 | 24.4 | 17.2 | 3 | 0 |
Across all three formats combined, Pope has taken 168 wickets in his career so far. His T20 numbers stand out in particular, with a strike rate of just 17.2, meaning he takes a wicket roughly once every 17 balls in the format, a genuinely strong return for a specialist leg spinner in T20 cricket.
Batting Record
| Format | Matches | Innings | Not Outs | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Balls Faced | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-Class | 23 | 33 | 16 | 175 | 36 | 10.3 | 520 | 33.6 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| List A | 22 | 12 | 8 | 31 | 12* | 7.8 | 63 | 49.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T20 | 67 | 14 | 6 | 18 | 5 | 2.2 | 45 | 40.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Lloyd Pope’s batting numbers make clear he is picked purely for his bowling. He is a genuine tail ender, with a First-Class average of 10.3 and a highest score of just 36. In T20 cricket, he has batted in only 14 of his 67 matches, which shows how rarely he is needed to contribute with the bat at that level.
Fielding Record
| Format | Catches | Run Outs | Stumpings |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-Class | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| List A | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| T20 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
FAQs
Has Lloyd Pope played international cricket for Australia?
Not yet. He has not played a Test, ODI or T20I for the senior Australian team, though he represented Australia at Under 19 level and remains a well regarded domestic bowler.
What is Lloyd Pope’s most famous cricket moment?
Taking 8 wickets for 35 runs against England in the 2018 Under 19 World Cup quarter final, still the best bowling figures in the history of that tournament.
Which BBL teams has Lloyd Pope played for?
He started with Sydney Sixers from 2018/19 to 2022/23, before signing with Adelaide Strikers ahead of BBL|13 and remaining with the club since.
What is Lloyd Pope’s best Sheffield Shield performance?
7 wickets for 87 runs against Queensland in his second First-Class match in 2018, which made him the youngest bowler to take a seven-wicket haul in Sheffield Shield history at the time.
How many wickets has Lloyd Pope taken in his career?
168 wickets combined across First-Class, List A and T20 cricket, based on his most recent official career statistics.
Is Lloyd Pope a good batter?
No, he is a specialist bowler with a First-Class batting average of 10.3 and no First-Class or List A centuries or fifties. His value comes entirely from his bowling.
Where does Lloyd Pope play outside Australia?
He signed with Northamptonshire in May 2025 to play in England’s T20 Blast tournament, adding overseas T20 experience to his career.
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