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Ollie Pope

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Ollie Pope
Ollie Pope batting for Surrey in 2019
Personal information
Full name
Oliver John Douglas Pope
Born (1998-01-02) 2 January 1998 (age 26)
Chelsea, London, England
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
BattingRight handed
RoleMiddle-order batter
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 687)9 August 2018 v India
Last Test14 December 2024 v New Zealand
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2016–presentSurrey
2022Welsh Fire
2024London Spirit
2024/25Adelaide Strikers
Career statistics
Competition Test FC LA T20
Matches 55 114 31 60
Runs scored 3,130 7,603 767 1,295
Batting average 34.02 45.80 33.34 28.77
100s/50s 7/15 21/29 0/5 0/4
Top score 205 274 93* 99*
Catches/stumpings 73/1 151/1 9/0 23/0
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 17 December 2024

Oliver John Douglas Pope (born 2 January 1998) is an English professional cricketer who plays for the England cricket team and Surrey County Cricket Club.[1] He is a right-handed batter who occasionally plays as a wicket-keeper.[2] He made his Test debut against India in 2018.

Domestic career

[edit]

Pope attended Cranleigh School and is the great-great-great-great-grandson of the school's first headmaster, Joseph Merriman.[3] He played club cricket for both Guildford and Cranleigh Cricket Clubs and was a member of the Surrey age-group sides.

On 26 August 2016, Pope signed a two-year professional contract with Surrey.[4] Two days later, he made his List A debut for Surrey in the semi-final of the 2016 Royal London One-Day Cup against Yorkshire.[5]

He made his first-class debut on 28 March 2017 for Surrey against Oxford MCCU as part of the Marylebone Cricket Club University fixtures.[6] Pope scored his maiden List A half-century on 7 May 2017 against Sussex.[7] He made his Twenty20 debut for Surrey in the 2017 NatWest t20 Blast on 7 July 2017.[8] Pope scored his maiden first-class century against Hampshire at the end of the 2017 season, at the age of 19.[9]

During the 2017/18 winter, he was selected for the ECB's overseas placement programme in Australia whereby he played for the Campbelltown-Camden District Cricket Club in the NSW Premier Cricket League.[10] Pope went on to score 994 runs, including 3 centuries, and even received a commendation in the New South Wales parliament for his on & off-field exploits from MP Chris Patterson, who was the club's vice-president.[11] Pope's breakout year was 2018, when he hit 4 centuries and averaged 70.42 runs in Surrey's County Championship-winning campaign, and was awarded the PCA Young Player of the Year award.[12] Pope's success continued into 2019, as he was the highest-scoring Surrey batter in their first-class season with 812 runs at an average of 101, including 3 centuries, across only 9 innings.[13]

Pope re-entered the Surrey side for nine matches of the 2021 County Championship after the Covid disrupted 2020 season, scoring 861 runs at an average of 78.27, including totals of 245 against Leicestershire and a career-best 274 against Glamorgan.[14][15][16]

In April 2022, he was bought by the Welsh Fire for the 2022 season of The Hundred.[17]

International career

[edit]

Pope was added to England's squad for the second Test against India at Lord's,[18] where he made his Test debut, on 9 August 2018.[19] He made 28 in his only knock, as England won by an innings. Later that year, he was selected for England's tour of Sri Lanka.[20] However, having played no part in England's first Test, he was released from the tour in order to join up with the England Lions for their game against Pakistan A in the UAE.[21]

During a strong 2019 season, Pope was called up as cover for Jason Roy before the 3rd Ashes Test at Headingley.[22] Although Roy was eventually passed fit to play, this saw Pope back in the International picture and a month later he was called up to the England Test squad to face New Zealand.[23] In the second Test at Hamilton, Pope made 75 runs in England's only innings.[24] Pope then toured South Africa but missed the first test due to illness. He then top scored in the first innings of the second test with 61* and then followed this up with his maiden Test century for England in the third Test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth, with 135*.[25]

On 29 May 2020, Pope was named in a 55-man group of players to begin training ahead of international fixtures starting in England following the COVID-19 pandemic.[26][27] On 17 June 2020, Pope was included in England's 30-man squad to start training behind closed doors for the Test series against the West Indies.[28][29] On 4 July 2020, Pope was named in England's thirteen-man squad for the first Test match of the series.[30][31]

Pope played in all six Test matches of the 2020 England summer, scoring 215 runs at an average of 26.9 against Pakistan and the West Indies, including scores of 91 and 62.[32] Due to a shoulder injury sustained during the Pakistan series, Pope was not included in the England squad for their 2021 tour of Sri Lanka, though he travelled with the tour party so that he could work on his fitness with the team's physiotherapist.[33] He was also not originally included for England's 2021 tour of India, though again he accompanied the tour party, but was added after the England medical team were satisfied he had recovered sufficiently.[34] Pope played in all four tests, scoring 153 runs at an average of 19.1, in England's 3–1 series defeat.[35][36]

In England's 2021 series against New Zealand, Pope made 84 runs in 4 innings, with a highscore of just 23.[37] Due to a quad injury, Pope only played in the fourth Test against India in their tour of England, making scores of 81 and 2.[38][39] Pope was included in England's squad for the 2021-22 Ashes.[40]

Pope was included in the England squad for the 2022 test series against New Zealand.[41] In the second Test he made a score of 145, which included 13 fours and 3 sixes.[42]

On 16 May 2023, Pope was named England's vice-captain.[43] In June 2023, Pope broke the record for the quickest Test double hundred to be made in England, as he reached 200 in just 207 balls at Lord’s against Ireland, beating the previous best of 220 balls achieved by Ian Botham against India in 1982.[44]

Pope suffered a dislocated shoulder in June 2023, preventing him playing for several months.[45]

Pope was part of England's squad for the 5 match Test tour of India in 2024.[46] In the second innings of the first test match of the series, he played a match-winning knock of 196 runs which is the fourth highest score by an Englishman in India.[47]

Pope was part of England's squad for the three-match Test series in 2024 against the West Indies cricket team.[48]

When Ben Stokes was injured prior to England's series against Sri Lanka, Pope stepped up from vice-captain to lead the side in those three matches.[49]

Batting style

[edit]

Veteran cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Brett Lee and Kevin Pietersen have compared Pope's technique to that of Ian Bell.[50] Similarities with Bell are often drawn to Pope's "elegant" cover drive, ability to rotate the strike, and "compact" technique.[51][52]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "20 cricketers for the 2020s". The Cricketer Monthly. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Player profile: Ollie Pope". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  3. ^ Richardson, Charles (24 January 2021). "Revealed: How Cranleigh School became a sporting powerhouse". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Ollie Pope signs two year deal". Surrey County Cricket Club. 26 August 2016. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  5. ^ "Royal London One-Day Cup, 1st Semi-Final: Yorkshire v Surrey at Leeds, 28 August 2016". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Marylebone Cricket Club University Matches, Oxford MCCU v Surrey at Oxford, Mar 28-30, 2017". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Chris Nash leads way as Sussex see off Surrey". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  8. ^ "NatWest t20 Blast, South Group: Essex v Surrey at Chelmsford, Jul 7, 2017". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  9. ^ "Pope's maiden hundred brings meaning to drab day". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Pope given overseas placement in Sydney". Surrey County Cricket Club. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  11. ^ "Ollie Pope: How the Vatican, snakes and laundry made England's new batsman". BBC Sport. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  12. ^ "Pope Wins PCA Young Player Of The Year - Kia Oval". www.kiaoval.com. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  13. ^ "2019 - Surrey Cricket Team Records & Stats | ESPNcricinfo.com". Cricinfo. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  14. ^ "County Championship, 2021 - Surrey Cricket Team Records & Stats | ESPNcricinfo.com". Cricinfo. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Pope hits 245 as Surrey dominate Leics". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Surrey's Pope stars in run riot v Glam". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  17. ^ "The Hundred 2022: latest squads as Draft picks revealed". BBC Sport. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  18. ^ "England v India: Ollie Pope replaces Dawid Malan for second Test at Lord's". BBC Sport. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  19. ^ "2nd Test, India tour of Ireland and England at London, Aug 9-13 2018". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  20. ^ James, Steve (21 September 2018). "England call up Rory Burns and Olly Stone and select Stuart Broad for Sri Lanka tour" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  21. ^ "Ollie Pope to leave England tour to join up with Lions and face Pakistan A". The Independent. 11 November 2018. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022.
  22. ^ "Pope called up as cover for Ashes Test". Surrey CCC. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  23. ^ "Bairstow dropped from England Test squad for New Zealand series". ICC Cricket. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  24. ^ "England's Joe Root praises Ollie Pope's maturity after second Test stand". The Guardian. London, UK. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  25. ^ "Ollie Pope scores maiden Test hundred as England dominate South Africa on day two". Sky Sports. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  26. ^ "England Men confirm back-to-training group". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  27. ^ "Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett left out as England name 55-man training group". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  28. ^ "England announce 30-man training squad ahead of first West Indies Test". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  29. ^ "Moeen Ali back in Test frame as England name 30-man training squad". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  30. ^ "England name squad for first Test against West Indies". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  31. ^ "England v West Indies: Dom Bess in squad, Jack Leach misses out". BBC Sport. 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  32. ^ "Ollie Pope". Cricinfo. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  33. ^ "Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer rested for England Test tour of Sri Lanka". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  34. ^ "Ollie Pope added to Test squad for India series". England and Wales Cricket Board. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  35. ^ "Batting records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPNcricinfo.com". Cricinfo. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  36. ^ "England would be wise to rest Ollie Pope for final Test against India". The Guardian. 27 February 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  37. ^ "New Zealand in England Test Series, 2021 - England Cricket Team Records & Stats | ESPNcricinfo.com". Cricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  38. ^ "It's Time For Ollie Pope To Fulfil His Potential, For England's Sake As Well As His Own". Wisden. 22 August 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  39. ^ "Full Scorecard of India vs England 4th Test 2021 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  40. ^ "England name strong squad for Ashes". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  41. ^ "New Zealand tour of England 2022". ESPN. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  42. ^ "This is the first time I've felt like a No 3,' says Ollie Pope after crucial hundred". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  43. ^ "Pope named England Vice-Captain". Kia Oval. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  44. ^ Mason, Lewis (2 June 2023). "Ollie Pope breaks record for quickest Test double century in England as Tongue takes first Test wickets". tntsports. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  45. ^ "The Ashes 2023: England's Ollie Pope ruled out for remainder of series due to shoulder injury". Sky Sports.
  46. ^ "England Men squad for India Test tour announced". www.ecb.co.uk. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  47. ^ "IND vs ENG, England in India 2023/24, 1st Test at Hyderabad, January 25 - 28, 2024 - Full Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  48. ^ "Pope shows Test hundreds are like pizza". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  49. ^ "England captain Ben Stokes ruled out of Sri Lanka series with hamstring injury". The Guardian. 13 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  50. ^ "England: Ollie Pope comfortable with Ian Bell comparison | The Cricketer". www.thecricketer.com. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  51. ^ "'It's a positive but a coincidence'". BBC Sport. 8 October 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  52. ^ "Ollie Pope looks the part as he follows in footsteps of England batting giants | Vic Marks". The Guardian. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
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