This kid is the real deal

Soft hands, full range of shots, good tempo...

WE know what Ben Stokes can do. He is a freak and he is England’s best batsman at the moment. But for me the more eye- catching and important innings for England yesterday came from Ollie Pope. He has been the biggest positive for them on this tour.

I said at Newlands when Pope made a half-century that it was so good to see a young English batsman with an off-side game, someone so fluent and a touch player.

So many young batsmen now are influenced by Twenty20 and rely more on power but Pope has soft hands, he bats with a rhythm and I love the way he opens the face of the bat and runs the ball down to third man or through backward point.

Joe Denly, for one, should look at how quick on his feet Pope is to spin, either fully forward or fully back and how he opens up areas and looks to keep the score ticking over. He bats at the perfect, busy tempo for the middle order.

England must leave Pope at six now for some time. Eventually he will go up to three, like so many great players have done, but let’s not rush that. They have found a player and they’ve found his position, having batted him too high at four when he first played, so let’s keep him there for now.

Pope has put away the big booming drives that made him a little loose outside that off-stump when he first played but perhaps that came with being tense and a little nervous. He was going after the ball when he first played Test cricket. Now he has his maiden Test hundred he can only go from strength to strength because his hands will only get softer and he’ll feel more comfortable.

It’s certainly a huge moment for Pope. People would have known he could play but when you get that first one you tell yourself you can play. When he walked back into that dressing room yesterday the England players would have been looking at him and thinking: ‘You really can play, this is your moment.’

It’s refreshing because we haven’t been able to say that about too many England players in recent times. Haseeb Hameed looked as though he was the answer at the top of the order in India but there was always an issue with his low hands in England and he flattered to deceive.

Towards the end of England’s innings, too, Pope also showed that when the situation demands he has different gears to go through and can switch to oneday mode.

Of course, there will be challenges ahead, like when Pope has to face the second new ball at six in English conditions. But there are times when you just watch a game and think you have seen a batsman who is going to have a long and productive career at the highest level. And we have seen one here in Pope.