SECOND TEST Joe’s rooting perfect fit at
ENGLAND captain Joe Root has backed youngster Ollie Pope to hit the ground running when he makes his Test debut against India today.
At 20 years and 219 days, Pope will become the 10th-youngest Englishman to play Test cricket and the first to make his bow at No4 in the batting order since Michael Vaughan in 1999. With just 15 first-class appearances under his belt for Surrey, Pope is entering the Lord’s stage with little experience.
He has also never batted higher than No 6 for Surrey – making his selection ahead of the out-of-form Dawid Malan a high-risk one.
Root, though, is confident Pope has what it takes to succeed following a County Championship season in which he has scored 684 runs at an average of 85.50.
“Ollie will come in and bat at No4,” said Root. “He has obviously batted at No6 for Surrey this season – but having seen him play a littlebit and the way his game is set up, I think it’s very much transferable to bat at No 4 in Test cricket.
“I know that might be seen as quite a big jump. But he’s an exciting talent and, with the guys around him, he fits nicely into that position in our team.”
England’s skipper witnessed Pope’s qualities at first hand earlier this summer when he hit an unbeaten 158 for Surrey in a County Championship match against Root’s Yorkshire at the Kia Oval. Asked why he thought Pope could replicate that form in the Test arena, Root said: “He has played some very important knocks under pressure for Surrey and has a very good all-round game.
“That’s a very exciting prospect for such a young man, to have the ability to play in that manner. I’m looking forward to him just going out there and being himself – and playing exactly as he has done throughout this summer.
“He’s very mature for a young man. I can see that he thinks about the game a lot and has a very good understanding of where he’s at within his own game – which is a really good sign coming into this environment. I hope that will stand him in good stead.”
Despite the heatwave that has baked London and the Southeast for much of the summer, England are likely to stick with just one spinner in Adil Rashid for this second Test. Moeen Ali remains in contention after England opted to delay naming their team. But it appears Chris Woakes, back from knee and thigh injuries, is likely to get the nod this morning as England edge towards sticking with four seamers.
Woakes proved he is back to full pace by hitting Root on the right hand in
LIKELY LINE-UPS
England: Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Joe Root (captain), Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad, James Anderson. India: Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Ravi Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav. Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pakistan), Marais Erasmus (South Africa). TV umpire: Chris Gaffaney (New Zealand). TV: Sky Sports Cricket from 10am (start 11am).
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