The lowest crowd in Prime Minister's XI history of 1824 watched the home side record an upset for the ages over South Africa by four wickets at Manuka Oval on Wednesday.

Just 1248 people were on hand for South Africa's innings, and anyone expecting a rush after the people of Canberra finished work would have been left sorely disappointed.

Two years after Allan Border said the Prime Minister's XI fixture was in danger of losing all relevance, the poor turnout could raise the alarm for cricket chiefs.

It serves as an indication of just how much content Canberra can handle given fans have been spoiled for choice this summer with a women's international, Big Bash League, WBBL, WNCL, Sheffield Shield and a Test match.

It also means a host of Canberrans weren't on hand for what some thought was an impossible feat - but Prime Minister's XI coach Chris Rogers always had an inkling they could do the unthinkable.

"Leading into the game I actually had a thought we could beat South Africa, knowing they might be a little bit rusty," Rogers said.

"A lot of our players are coming off some really good performances. The early email was ‘I think we can win this’, but then it’s still about ‘let’s just enjoy it’. That was the message to the guys.

"As George Bailey rightly said, there’s no downside to these games. If they miss out, then so be it, they’re not going to get dropped. But if they play well, then people will take notice."

And play well they did. Jason Behrendorff ripped through the top order in the opening over to finish with 3-35, Usman Qadir (3-28) bowled superbly, and little-known Queenslander Blake Edwards claimed two scalps to roll the tourists for 173.

When Jack Edwards slashed Dale Steyn's first delivery to the fence it became clear this team largely made up of rookies might give the Proteas a scare.

Josh Philippe showed class beyond his years before Lungi Ngidi juggled a catch on the boundary to remove him for 57 (53), while Jason Sangha (43) was another youngster standing up to an attack featuring superstar quicks Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada.

Steyn bowled well without luck but it will do little to appease South Africa, who have dropped their lone tour game to a side featuring just three players with international experience - 128 caps to be exact, and 125 of those belong to Prime Minister's XI skipper George Bailey, who guided the hosts home inside 37 overs with a sterling 51 not out.

South Africa will meet Australia in a three-match one-day international series beginning on Sunday and this outing suggests the hosts may not be the most vulnerable ones.

But batsman Aidan Markram says the tourists won't hit the panic button despite the question marks hovering over South Africa, adamant this outing will not weigh on their minds come Sunday.

"Not a hell of a lot, no. It’s a good gauge for guys to see how much work still needs to be done for each person going into the first one-day international," Markram said.

"A lot of positives we can take, and a lot of question marks need answering as well. The most obvious one is building partnerships. You’re never going to post a big score if you don’t have partnerships."

The Prime Minister's XI class of 2018-19 became the first home side to win this fixture since Julia Gillard's reign at the top of Australian politics.

It leaves Scott Morrison as one of just four political powerbrokers with a winning record in the fixture alongside Bob Hawke, Paul Keating and John Howard.

If only the people were there to see it.