Ollie Pope enjoys wicketkeeping and batting down the order. This much was clear after the first two days in Christchurch, where his glove work went unnoticed for the right reasons and his precious 77 with the bat helped swing matters England’s way.
But even if England’s vice-captain continues the dual role for the remainder of this New Zealand tour – Durham’s Ollie Robinson is flying out as an alternative option following Jordan Cox’s broken thumb – there remains a desire to resume his spot at No 3. This despite Pope leaving the 2-1 series defeat in Pakistan with only 59 runs to his name and questions swirling about his suitability for the role’s demands.
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Speaking after he and Harry Brook, 132 not out, had dragged England out of the mire on the second day of the first Test at Hagley Oval, their fifth-wicket stand of 151 pushing back after a tricky start, Pope stressed that his approach was the same as it would have been had he walked out at first drop.
“I want to be No 3; I want to keep trying to make it mine,” said Pope. “I’ve had too many low scores there but I’ve also managed to put together some good knocks this year. It’s definitely a job I want to keep doing.
“If I was batting at three, I’d have tried to play exactly the same way as today. The biggest difference at three is you set the tone a lot more. If you play well you can put your team in a really strong position.
“The fun thing at six, you might come in at 350 for four and it might be your job to push the game forward. [Or] you can get your team out of a tricky situation. Both roles are good fun, just slightly different.”
The other difference between this Test match and those in Pakistan – beyond the obvious lurch in conditions after England were spun out on tailored surfaces in Multan and Rawalpindi – was apparently between the ears, with Pope having sat down for advice from Surrey’s outgoing director of cricket, Alec Stewart, in between tours.
Pope explained: “I didn’t get Stewy throwing balls on the dog stick, he’s too high up for that I think. We had an open discussion and it’s probably healthy to talk to someone from outside who’s been watching you.
“Sometimes that’s a nice opinion to have. I gained a lot from going back and talking to him. Pakistan wasn’t an easy tour and I wasn’t good enough to find a way. For me, it was really important to draw a line under it.
“It was more about: ‘What does it look like when I’m at my best?’ Because that was a frustrating thing: I wasn’t getting to 20 or 30, to allow myself to go on to that big score. We talked about having that calmness at the crease. When I’m playing well there’s that clarity in how I want to play, not trying to rush my way to 20 or 30.”
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