Ollie Pope: I feel a lot more at home after making my first big England score

EXCLUSIVE
Will Macpherson20 December 2019

For Ollie Pope, 2019 has fluctuated wildly. In April, fresh from hitting 251 for Surrey in Dubai, the 21-year-old had designs on an England recall in the Ashes. Then he suffered a significant shoulder injury which required surgery, leaving the series “out of the question”.

He and Surrey director Alec Stewart began trying to get him a gig in Sydney grade cricket for the winter.

In high summer, he was fit enough to play again and, having been involved in just a couple of T20s, a call came from national selector Ed Smith, saying he was on standby for the Ashes as a concussion sub. Confidence swelled, he returned to red-ball action with a bang — another double-century — and, though the Ashes opportunity never came, a recall did for the tour of New Zealand. His young Surrey team-mate Jamie Smith headed off to Eastern Suburbs CC in Sydney instead.

“When I did my shoulder it didn’t feel like the end of the world, but it felt like a massive step back in my career,” says Pope. “I thought it might delay everything by a year or even more, so it was a nice feeling to be back.”

That strange, short tour of New Zealand was an up-and-down experience, too. In the First Test at Mount Maunganui, Pope was “was very, very annoyed with myself” for twice falling loosely in a defeat.

Before the Second Test, he was stood next to Jos Buttler in the Hamilton gym when the wicketkeeper — who is one of the fittest players in the game — injured his back, meaning that, as the designated reserve in a small squad, Pope would be England’s fourth Test keeper of 2019, having done the job just five times in first-class cricket.

“I remember thinking that something weird would happen, so when it did I just thought ‘classic’. I was ready to do the job, though,” he says.

Given he came in cold, he acquitted himself acceptably, but was disappointed to drop Kane Williamson on the final day as England pushed for victory. He does believe that in this instance, keeping — an additional focus — helped his batting.

Having looked a little flighty in his first five Test innings, he closely watched the way New Zealand’s BJ Watling and his captain, Joe Root, patiently went about their business in their double-centuries in that series.

Making 75 himself, Pope studied Root from the other end — a perfect education. The Hamilton knock that means he now heads to South Africa confident of his place at No6 — without the gloves, of course — and strong in the belief that he can survive at this level. It is an innings that reminded him of one at the end of 2017 against Hampshire when, aged 19 and playing his third first-class match, he made a century.

Eleven months later, with four more first-class hundreds to his name, he was playing Test cricket.

“It would have been nice to get a hundred [in Hamilton], but I look back on that innings, and it’s my first significant score,” he tells Standard Sport.

"South Africa have a very good attack, but my game’s in a place to deal with it. You’ve got to beat the best to be the best."

“I’d got starts, some twenties, and spent a little time at the crease. To actually soak it in, face 200-odd balls and put in a performance for the team, I take huge confidence from that. I back my ability and feel I have the game for it, and I’m happy that I’ve been able to start proving that. It makes me feel ready for the next challenge and to put in consistent scores.

“Whenever you go up a level, be that school to Surrey seconds, then the first team, until you put in your first performances and do it on that stage, you know you are under pressure, whether selection-wise or just personally.

“To put in my first one makes me feel a lot more at home. It’s a building block moving forward. Rather than going into each Test innings thinking I need a score, I now have that reference point and go in with the same mindset that I would playing for Surrey and, hopefully, that will reap rewards.”

Pope’s first shot at international cricket, against India last year, came at No4, but No6 looks a better fit to bed in and he heads into the South Africa series full of confidence. Jonny Bairstow is back to provide competition and with Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander lying in wait, the next challenge is stiff.

“Looking at international cricket, there is no such thing as a nice attack to face,” he says. “In county cricket you might get some respite, but that doesn’t come easily in international cricket.

“It’s a cliche, but you’ve got to beat the best to be the best. They have a very good attack, but I feel my game’s in a place to deal with it. I won’t be setting targets of, say, scoring 400 runs in the series, but I feel if I can get to 30 or 40, I can make them into big scores.”

Since that innings against Hampshire, being picked and dumped by England or injured has barely interrupted his flow of first-class runs. Now the challenge is to make Hamilton like Hampshire and do the same another level up.

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