England call in 20-year-old Ollie Pope for second Test against India as Dawid Malan makes way

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Will Macpherson5 August 2018

England have taken the bold step of calling the 20-year-old Surrey batsman Ollie Pope in place of the struggling Dawid Malan for the Second Test against India at Lord’s.

England lead the series 1-0 and have made two changes from the squad that secured a thrilling opening win at Edgbaston. The other is enforced, with Chris Woakes back in the squad for Ben Stokes, who this week stands trial in Bristol having pleaded not guilty to a charge of affray.

Moeen Ali and Jamie Porter, the unused squad members at Edgbaston, retain their places, but it is Pope’s presence that is most eye-catching. He has beaten off competition from Worcestershire’s Joe Clarke, but may miss out to Moeen in the final XI if England choose to play two spinners.

Middlesex captain Malan can have few complaints. While he enjoyed a breakout Ashes tour, including a maiden century at Perth, he has made just one half-century in five Tests since, and one half-century in eight Tests at home.

Ed Smith, the national selector, made a point of this, saying: “Dawid has not found his best rhythm this season, and it may be that his game is better suited to overseas conditions.”

His cause was not helped by three dropped catches at Edgbaston, but his absence will mean another shuffle to England’s ever-evolving slip cordon.

Pope, like his county colleague Sam Curran, who shone at Edgbaston, is just 20 and had not made his Championship debut a year ago.

It has been a sensational rise since, with a century in his second match, and three more among his 684 runs this summer. One of those was an unbeaten 158 against a Yorkshire side captained by Joe Root earlier this summer.

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After 15 first-class matches, his average is the second highest of any Englishman at the same stage in their career. He is clearly a player of some promise, but his call-up asks a lot; he would be expected to bat at No4, but has never even batted in the top five in Championship cricket.

He did bat at No5 on his England Lions debut last month, making an unbeaten second innings half-century.

“Ollie Pope has made an exceptional start to his first class career,” said Smith. “He has reached a 1000 first class runs in just 15 matches and is the first division’s stand-out batsman this season with 684 runs at 85. The selection panel believe that Ollie’s performances and character suggest he is well suited to international cricket.”

It is not insignificant that both players to come in are right-handers, whose presence would help counter the threat of off-spinner Ravi Ashwin, who took seven wickets at Edgbaston.

That Test was deemed too soon for Woakes, who missed England’s white-ball summer with injury and is feeling his way back. Curran’s runs at Edgbaston are likely to see him promoted to No7, with Woakes slotting in at No8.

This selection is the latest example of the bold approach of the new selection panel under Smith. So far, his gambles – Jos Buttler, Dom Bess, Adil Rashid and Curran – have broadly paid off. They are unafraid to wield the axe, with Malan following James Vince and Mark Stoneman out of the batting lineup.

England squad to face India at Lord’s: Cook, Jennings, Root (c), Pope, Bairstow (wk), Buttler, Moeen Ali, S.Curran, Woakes, Rashid, Broad, Anderson, Porter

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