Before the first Test in the India-England series at Leeds, the home team was faced with a dilemma whether to stick with Ollie Pope or choose Jacob Bethell. Pope, despite a big hundred recently, never enjoyed the best record against India or Australia previously.
But on Day 2 of the first Test, Pope went on to score a hundred, after being dropped when he was on 60 by Yashasvi Jaiswal. This is Pope’s second hundred against India, the first coming in Hyderabad when he scored 196 runs last year.
“It sums up and proves why he’s England number three,” said opener Ben Duckett, who made 62 in a stand of 122 with the England vice-captain.
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Duckett also spoke about the talk around England’s Test selection choices and how Pope was seen as a clear choice to play at Headingley, especially after he scored 171 against Zimbabwe at Nottingham in May.
“There’s noise outside of a dressing room but there’s no noise in it,” said Duckett. “We’re not having discussions about who’s going to play. It seemed pretty clear coming into this Test match that if a bloke scores 171 a few weeks ago he’s going to play this one.”
Pope’s handling of Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah was praised by former England skipper Alastair Cook. The former left-hand batsman said that Pope looked in control when playing against Bumrah.
“The way he played Bumrah, he without doubt played with the most control,” former England captain Alastair Cook told Test Match Special. “Whether it is a conscious effort, he played the ball later. He looked way less frenetic.”
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Pope is set to continue his innings on Day 3 with Harry Brook at the other end. Day 2’s end saw Brook go through a nervous last few minutes against a menacing Bumrah, an atmosphere that could be replicated early on Day 3.
