Cricket ACT officials reveal plan to grow Prime Minister's XI clash

The time-honoured event made its return last week after a three-year hiatus. While it has previously been played as a 50-over or Twenty20 match, this summer's edition was a four-day pink ball contest.

The fixture acted as a vital tuneup for the West Indies ahead of their two-Test series against Australia, starting Wednesday.

As a result, the quality of cricket was high across the four days, with a host of big names turning out at Manuka Oval.

The match eventually ended a draw on Saturday night after the tourists survived a Prime Minister's XI onslaught with the new ball under lights.

While the level of cricket was exceptionally high, the four-day format made filling Manuka Oval a difficult prospect.

It's understood around 2000 people ventured into the ground across the four days. For context, 3106 turned out for a T20 fixture in 2019 while 1824 fans attended the 2018 game.

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The feedback from players has been full of praise for the four-day format and Cricket ACT officials are keen to see the match remain a pink-ball contest in the future.

The next priority is for the clash to be played in a regular window each summer, allowing the event to become an annual showpiece on the Canberra calendar.

"The Prime Minister's XI has become a supportive and preparation game for Australian cricket so the format depends on the priorities of Australian cricket each season," Cricket ACT chair Greg Boorer said.

"It would be nice to have some consistency of format and a date on the calendar where people always come back to and it becomes part of their lives.

"We all know with international cricket there is so much pressure on schedules. Beggars can't be choosers, we'll take what we can get but I would love a first-class, day-night game. It's such a good opportunities to get people to the ground after work and provide a bit of hospitality."

The Prime Minister's XI fixture's placement at the start of the summer turned the game into a genuine selection trial and ensured there were stakes attached to what has previously been a relaxed contest.

As a result, the players took the game seriously and were determined to make a statement against international opposition.

That saw the likes of Matt Renshaw, Todd Murphy and West Indies youngster Tagenarine Chanderpaul step up with impressive performances.

Overall, the feedback from players and coaches regarding the four-day format has been positive and there is a desire for the pink ball to return next summer.

"The players all enjoyed it," Prime Minister's XI assistant coach Jono Dean said. "They all love playing cricket and the pink ball adds an extra element, a new challenge.

"There were problems to solve throughout the four days with bat and ball. They're experienced cricketers and they enjoyed it. A four-day game, especially a pink ball, adds a bit extra to the Prime Minister's XI game."

The decision to play this year's Prime Minister's XI fixture as a first-class match was not made until after the Australian team's schedule was already locked in.

As a result, Cricket ACT officials had limited amounts of time to prepare for the game and build it up as an important event.

Boorer said the organisation has learnt plenty of lessons from the match and they are already thinking of ways to generate crowds and revive the party atmosphere of previous Prime Minister's XI fixtures in the coming years.

"Over time once we get our heads around the format we can build more festival events around the game in the evenings and turn it into something bigger," Boorer said. "It was relatively late in the scheduling when it all came together with the format.

"One of the highlights for me was how warmly the prime minister actually embraced the game. He had a massive program this week with parliament. The fact the prime minister came along and genuinely embraced the game, that was excellent. The successful eras of this match has been when the prime minister embraces it, Robert Menzies, Bob Hawke, they made it a big thing."

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