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Vice-captain Ollie Pope made a timely reminder of his batting abilities after hitting his sixth Test century on day one of the second Test at Trent Bridge to help England finish on top.
Pope’s ton was made all the more satisfying considering he was dropped by Alick Athanaze on 46 and Jason Holder on 54 either side of lunch, allowing him to reach 121 before he was removed by Alzarri Joseph.
The Surrey player’s century came in front of watching Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, who Pope called his “lucky charm” with the footballer also having been in the stands for his double hundred against Ireland at Lord’s last summer.
“I’m obviously a big Arsenal fan so I go and support him a fair bit. He seems to be my lucky charm on the cricket pitch as well,” said Pope, after a return to form.
Earlier this year, Pope made a remarkable 196 in Hyderabad to set up England’s first Test victory during an otherwise relentless winter in India, but following that century he only managed to make a combined score of 118 across the remaining four Tests.
“I’ve put in a fair bit of hard work before this series and I think I know how the West Indies try to come at us as a seam attack,” Pope said.
“They get the ball swinging and use their short ball, it’s a strong attack, for me it was about putting them under pressure and then the dropped catches were handy.
“We found a way to put them back under pressure and I didn’t feel like I had to try too much.
“The way [Ben] Duckett started, unfortunately losing Zak Crawley in the first over, but the pressure he put back on the West Indies bowlers was class and it took the pressure off me as well.
Ollie Pope’s century vs the West Indies in numbers
“It’s such a quick scoring ground, the outfield is like lightning here, it’s a lovely place to bat.
“It was a good day, really good day. We also feel like we left a couple out there which I think is a really good sign for where we’re at as a batting unit.
“When you get put into bat and put 416 on the board, you can’t complain.”
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Ollie Pope reflects on England’s strong start to their second test against West Indies and dissects his superb performance that saw him reach a century
Pope’s batting was emblematic of the Bazball philosophy as he smashed 15 boundaries and one six during his outing to quieten any doubters about his eventual future as Stokes’ successor.
Pope’s bid to become the future leader of the England’s Test team was enhanced by his appointment as full-time vice-captain in May last year, and during the reign of Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum the 26-year-old has established himself as England’s No 3.
Pope admitted that he felt like he was improving as a batter but couldn’t see those changes materialise on the field as he struggled during the County Championship season with Surrey and in the Vitality Blast hit 142 runs at an average of 47.33.
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Kavem Hodge superbly catches England’s Ollie Pope out to finally dismiss him for 121
“Things weren’t really clicking for me in the county stuff before this and I couldn’t work out why because I felt like I was becoming a better player,” Pope said.
“For me, it was about trying to trust my defence as best I can. I felt I was getting better but the runs and the results weren’t there.
“It was probably the first time in county cricket that I’d had that and it wasn’t clear why.
“A lot of it was about temperament. I found a nice routine going into a Test match and walking out to bat I just had that clarity of mind about how I wanted to go about my innings.”
Broad: Pope’s No 3 spot in England side is safe
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Arsenal and England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale jokes he is Ollie Pope’s “lucky mascot” as he also discusses Ben Stokes talking to the England squad ahead of Euro 2024
Sky Sports Cricket’s Stuart Broad praised Ollie Pope’s performance saying that England trust their No 3 batter enough to give him plenty of opportunities.
“Especially at Trent Bridge, he loves batting here. In 2022, he got a great century against New Zealand,” Broad said.
“He’s such a clean striker of the ball, so when these pitches come on nicely with a quick outfield, he looks in such fine form.
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Highlights from the day one of the second Test between England and West Indies at Trent Bridge as Ollie Pope’s century underpinned the home side’s 416 all out
“But the gully chance, trickier than the slip chance to be honest, but both very catchable. At this level, if you give top-class batters opportunities they will punish you.
“He’s not scored many runs since his brilliant hundred in India and there’s no doubt the whole changing room will have been thrilled for him getting that hundred today.
“I think his spot is safe in that England side. He’s batting, I think, in the most difficult position at No 3.
“He’s a fine player, he’s a brilliant character within the group and he’s trusted in that spot. We know this England set-up with Stokes and McCullum like to give players a lot of opportunities to find form and that hundred in India was one of the best away hundreds you’re ever going to see.
“I’m delighted to see him get a hundred, he deserved that.”
England’s Test series vs West Indies
Watch day two of the second Test between England and West Indies, from Trent Bridge in Nottingham, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Friday (first ball to be bowled at 11am).
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