ACT batsman Jono Dean maintains there is a future for Canberra-based cricketers to play in the Prime Minister's XI match in the hope it will unearth a star.
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Wests-UC batsman Matthew Gilkes will carry the drinks as the home side's 12th man, marking the second year in a row an ACT player has missed the final XI.
Forty players have represented the Prime Minister's XI while playing for the ACT, with 33 local players filling the role of 12th man since the fixture started in 1951.
Dean has done both and it was in his second PM's XI chance that he made a name for himself, with a knock that ultimately landed him a Big Bash League contract with Adelaide.
Gilkes will play for the ACT XI in a curtain-raiser against Papua New Guinea, a match Cricket ACT officials are keen to make an annual event.
However, having an ACT team play before the big show does not mean all hope is lost for Canberra players eyeing a crack in a PM's XI game.
Dean backed the decision to play the Sri Lankan contest as a Twenty20, because it allows the day to showcase more Canberra players than ever before.
"I'm sure it is disappointing for him [not to be in the final XI]," Dean said.
"His eyes will be pinned open. He'll be that excited to just be running the drinks, it's a fantastic opportunity. You never know, someone might go down in the warm-ups, you just never know.
"The important thing is he's there and he'll get some experience from being there."
While Dean admits the bulk of the ACT XI would rather be running around in the main event, playing on the undercard is still "a massive chance."
"You never know who is watching," Dean said.
"There should be a few people there hopefully coming through the gates, so it's a really good opportunity for some of these guys to step up and show what they've got in the bank.
"Any time you get the opportunity to get out on Manuka Oval, even when there's not a crowd it's a great opportunity, but before the PM's XI game there should be a few people watching and it'll be a great for some of the guys that are playing."
Playing under his "hero" Ricky Ponting, Dean blasted 51 from 40 balls against the West Indies in the 2013 fixture and catapulted himself into the bright lights of the BBL.
"[Playing with Ponting] was a box that I never thought I'd tick," Dean said.
"Just being able to get out there and do the thing you love in front of 10,000 people. It was an awesome opportunity and I enjoyed every minute of it.
"I was lucky enough to perform on the day and the rest is history."
The ACT veteran has since played 16 BBL games, where he has racked up 266 runs at a devastating strike rate of 139.26 for the Strikers.
Prime Minister's XI squad: Adam Voges (c), D'Arcy Short (WA), George Bailey (TAS), Joe Burns, Sam Heazlett (QLD), James Pattinson (VIC), Alex Carey, Daniel Worrall (SA), Arjun Nair, Jason Sangha, Henry Thornton (NSW), Matthew Gilkes (12th man, ACT). Coach: Michael Clarke.
Sri Lanka squad: Upul Tharanga (c), Vikum Sanjaya, Niroshan Dickwella, Asela Gunaratne, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Kusal Mendis, Dilshan Munaweera, Sachith Pathirana, Seekkuge Prasanna, Lakshan Sandakan, Dasun Shanaka, Milinda Siriwardana, Isuru Udana
ACT XI: John Rogers (c), Jono Dean, Joe Slater (Weston Creek Molonglo), Aiden Blizzard (ANU), Matthew Gilkes, Tom Engelbrecht, Sam Skelly (Western District-UC), Michael Spaseski (Eastlake), Dean Solway (Queanbeyan), Ben Taylor (North Canberra-Gungahlin), Benji Floros (Tuggeranong), Cameron Suidgeest (Ginninderra).
PRIME MINISTER'S XI
Wednesday 15 February: Prime Minister's XI vs Sri Lanka at Manuka Oval, 7.15pm. Tickets from Ticketek.
