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India vs England: Ollie Pope ready to emulate fellow youngster Sam Curran
Ollie Pope has only 15 first-class matches under his belt but looks certain to play in the second test in place of dropped Dawid Malan.
The winds of change are blowing fast across England cricket. If the limited-overs team under the inspiration of Irish-born skipper Eoin Morgan have kicked out the conservative approach as they build up for the 2019 World Cup at home, the Test team is following suit in a different way.
While Morgan has goaded the limited-overs players to use Indian Premier League as a finishing school, and Jos Buttler’s success in the home series against Pakistan has helped advertise that method, chairman of selectors, Ed Smith, seems to be authoring a youth revolution in the red-ball format.
After all-rounder Sam Curran’s sensational show in the Edgbaston Test against India, in only his second Test, his Surrey teammate, middle-order batsman Ollie Pope, has also been rewarded for his splendid showing in Country cricket. Smith also picked uncapped pace bowler Jamie Porter, 25, who has taken wickets by the bucketful to help Surrey crown themselves champions in Division II first and then Division I last year.
England will be without all-rounder Ben Stokes, who is facing a trial in Bristol this week over affray charges, and Pope is expected to come into the playing eleven in place of the axed Dawid Malan.
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Pope oozed with confidence on Tuesday as he faced the media, describing his I-was-there moment when Smith called to inform him of his selection for England in what is another fast-track to a national side that is undergoing transformation.
It has been a blur for Pope, 20, who got into Surrey’s first eleven for first-class games only late last season, and has been prolific for the side, leaders of the championship this season. Pope has scored 684 runs at an average of 85.50 with three centuries this season and played for England Lions in the win over India A last month.
Ed Smith spoke about Pope scoring 1,000 runs in just 15 matches as evidence of his promise, and the batsman was confident he can deliver against India if he gets to make a dream debut at Lord’s.
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Pope was unfazed by the prospect of facing off-spinner R Ashwin first up, the India off-spinner having coming off taking seven wickets on a seam-friendly Edgbaston track.
“He’s not your regular off-spinner. He bowls a ball that spins away and one that spins back in. You play him like a normal off-spinner, (but) you’ve just got to watch him a bit closer out of the hand. You need to know what balls are coming down at you, you can’t just premeditate an off-spinner with him.
“I’ll have a closer look before the game, if picked, and I’ll have my game plan. It’s not a massive difference, just got to look a bit closer.”
