Never before has a Prime Minister’s XI game assumed such significance. Not only will a pink ball be tested ahead of next month’s Adelaide Test, the Australians have picked a virtual Test squad of batsmen to face the Kiwi swing kings ahead of the first Test in a fortnight.
In years gone by the PM’s game has been little more than an exhibition, even involving a few politicians of the day and a 57-year-old Don Bradman who played his last game in a light-hearted 40-40 back in the summer of ’63
This is a fair dinkum contest with the likes of Shaun Marsh, Cam Bancroft, Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja fighting for three places for Brisbane.
Peter Siddle also gets his first match practice of the new summer. He needs to impress to stay a step ahead of Josh Hazlewood with the Brisbane Test upcoming