England batter Ollie Pope has acknowledged that his omission from the Test side following a disappointing Ashes tour to Australia was the correct decision at the time.
The County Championship begins on April 3, marking Pope’s return to domestic cricket after a challenging series.
England’s performance in the Ashes series was largely disappointing, aside from a Boxing Day Test victory that ended a decade-long winless run in Australia. The ‘Bazball’ approach to cricket, led by captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, emphasising positive and attacking play, failed to secure a series win against Australia or India, teams considered major rivals.
Pope, England’s number three batsman, struggled throughout the series, accumulating only 125 runs across six innings at an average of 20.83, with a highest score of 46. His subsequent exclusion from the final two Tests allowed Jacob Bethell to compete for the number three position. Bethell impressed in the second innings of the Sydney Test, securing a 160-run lead for England, and further enhanced his reputation as an all-format top-order batter during the T20 World Cup, where he was England’s leading run-scorer with 280 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 152.17, including a notable 48-ball century.
Pope will start the County Championship with Surrey for the first time since summer 2022 without being part of the England Test side. Reflecting on his poor form, Pope told ESPNCricinfo, “I would not say there was a massive technical thing, I was probably just too eager to put the bowlers under pressure without necessarily realising it at the time. But when I look back and reflect on it, that is probably the mistake that I made.” He added, “There are a couple of soft dismissals, probably in the second and third Test, where I look back, and I think that is pretty uncharacteristic for me for when I am playing well. You can process that, and that is logged now. Obviously, it is disappointing to experience that on the highest level when you want it the most.”
Discussing conversations with coach McCullum and managing director Rob Key, Pope described them as “pretty good” and said they helped him understand “where he stood”. He said, “Getting dropped is tough. I did not want to get dropped of course, but it was the right decision at the time.” Pope further stated, “I just wanted to have an open conversation with Brendon McCullum and then had a call with Rob Key just to see. I know things change between now and the start of the summer, but for me the chats were just ‘go back, score loads of runs’. If I am not in that XI, can I make sure I am the best batter in the country? I can take my game to another level, and make sure if something happens, it is making sure I am the man to come in.”
Since the McCullum-Stokes regime began, Pope has occupied the number three batting position in Tests. His recent struggles have seen his average at this position drop to 39.59, despite having made eight of his nine Test centuries and eight half-centuries in 63 innings there. His form issues also contributed to him losing the vice-captaincy to Harry Brook, England’s white-ball captain, at the end of last summer.
In the upcoming County Championship, Pope may move to number four in the batting order for Surrey, playing alongside teammate Jamie Smith. He expressed uncertainty about his future batting position but remains optimistic about his development, stating, “I still feel I can become a better player to bat at number three if something were to happen. But we will see how the next few weeks pan out and go into the season.”
He added, “My summer, I’m not 100 per cent sure what it looks like going forward. We’ve got a block of seven games for Surrey in the Championship, so I just want to make sure my game keeps improving, my game keeps developing, for if and when the England stuff comes around again.” Pope concluded, “It is different when you are not constantly playing in the Test matches. To have a block like this, I can go back to what really works well for me and make sure my game is in as good a place as it can be. I have played a lot of Test cricket now. Sixty-four Tests, I still feel like my best batting years are to come. That, for me, is to make sure I make the most of the experiences that I have had, as well as this time to kick on now.”