Australian fast bowler-turned-lawyer recalls good old PM’s XI tradition and how he took Sachin’s wicket in 1991

The Prime Minister’s XI games were a large woody past successful Australian cricket, with talented youngsters rubbing shoulders with seniors and having a ace astatine the nationalist scene. “It was televised nationally, and for america first-class players, it was a crippled wherever the state saw and judged you,” Rowley recalls.

In that game, isolated from young Rowley, determination was Shane Warne, Damien Martin, Matthew Hayden, Michael Bevan, Damien Fleming with his mullet hairsbreadth style, Greg Blewett, Jamie Siddons and Tim Zoehrer. Rowley grew up successful Canberra but played his cricket successful Sydney arsenic Canberra cricket wasn’t large then.

Big situation up for the PM’s XI astatine Manuka Oval this week against an astonishing Indian side. ⁰⁰

But arsenic I said to PM @narendramodi, I’m backing the Aussies to get the occupation done. pic.twitter.com/zEHdnjQDLS

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) November 28, 2024

The Rohit Sharma-led Indian team, too, met with Australian PM Anthony Albanese up of their pink-ball signifier crippled successful the superior against PM’s XI. When the PM told Virat Kohli successful jest that his Perth period kept adding to the grief of Baggy Greens, Kohli is reported to person retorted cheekily, “Always gotta adhd immoderate spice”.

But Albanese was lone pursuing a long-held tradition.

The touring squad playing PM’s XI dates backmost to the clip erstwhile Australia had the cricket-tragic premier minister, Robert Menzies. That was 1951, erstwhile the vastly fashionable West Indies squad was successful the state and Menzies spotted a spread successful the docket erstwhile the visitors weren’t playing a game. So helium called up the Australian cricket committee caput and said helium would similar to propulsion a crippled astatine Canberra, Australia’s superior and location of its parliament and politicians.

“I added that it was a idiosyncratic proposition, not a authorities matter; that I would personally warrant the expenses, including transport of players and if immoderate nett resulted, it would spell to the Canberra Legacy Club, devoted to helping widows and children of fallen comrades,” helium is expected to person said.

The cricket chairman’s petition was not to uncover immoderate “secret weapons” successful presumption of players and the PM assured him that it would beryllium a fewer retired players, a mates of members of parliament, 3 section players. “He agreed, I thought a small reluctantly. But his fears were not arsenic large arsenic mine; for if the lucifer was washed retired by rain, oregon nationalist attendance small, I would beryllium up for a sizable sum of money,” Menzies wrote successful his book, “The Measure of Years”.

In 1963, adjacent Don Bradman played for PM’s XI, years aft his retirement. Incidentally, helium scored 4 runs, the nonstop fig helium needed successful his past planetary crippled to get the mean of 100; backmost then, helium would, of course, autumn for a duck. On getting retired successful 1963, Bradman reportedly told Menzies, “It wouldn’t hap successful a 1000 years! Anyway, that’s my last quality astatine the wicket.”

These games stopped aft Menzies’s tenure, but different fashionable premier minister, Bob Hawke, revived the fixture successful 1983. “In that game, David Boon, a young talented opener astatine the time, deed a 100 against the celebrated West Indies team, and months aboriginal helium represented Australia. That fixture gained specified a estimation from past successful the Australian cricketing fraternity,” recalls Rowell.

Incidentally, Rowell was portion of the assemblage that time erstwhile Boon sparkled. “I was conscionable a kid and went with my brother. I retrieve the crushed was packed. West Indies were a large box-office those days successful Australia; Viv Richards, Joel Garner, Michael Holding, astir apt Andy Roberts — each large sanction played that game, and the Canberra crowd, who don’t get to spot overmuch large cricket, was thrilled,” helium says. Even Dennis Lillee, who had conscionable retired from planetary cricket a fewer weeks ago, and Geoff Thomson played that game.

Rowley soon returns to the 1991 game. “I retrieve Shastri spoke warmly astatine the extremity of the game. And Prime Minister Hawke, backmost from those days erstwhile politicians were popular, came to the dressing country to person a chat. That was a thrill.”

A fewer years later, Rowley recovered himself playing for Australia A against the main Australian squad successful the satellite bid game, needing to restrict Steve Waugh and Ian Healy from getting conscionable 3 runs successful the past over. He astir did, yorking Waugh to dot balls.

“I decided to spell for a yorker again and I astir apt shouldn’t person bowled that to Healy. A accelerated accelerated shot mightiness person done the trick. And I besides retrieve a afloat packed crowd’s screams arsenic I approached the crease- and that threw maine disconnected a bit. It ended arsenic a afloat toss, and Healy’s changeable sliced disconnected the outer borderline implicit backward point.” Video footage reveals Rowley, walking disconnected grim.

Rowley, who couldn’t marque it to the Australian team, pursued his education, became a lawyer, has a instrumentality firm, and is present connected the committee of Cricket Australia. “I besides toured India a fewer times arsenic a lawyer-cricketer; the satellite mightiness not cognize but we bash person a lawyers’ World Cup,” helium says.

Posh Lawyer, cricket committee member, accelerated bowler, and the antheral who took retired Tendulkar. “The Prime Minister’s XI doesn’t rather person that benignant of lasting successful Australian cricket. It was a antithetic satellite then,” helium says.