Ollie Pope

A stylish right-handed batter, Ollie Pope has blossomed under the Stokes-McCullum regime after an indifferent start to his Test career. He has been a key player in England's stellar run in the longest format, occupying the crucial No.3 position and being a good exponent of their positive style of play to drive the game forward.

Pope began his journey in domestic cricket with Surrey, signing for them in August 2016 when he was just 18. He played his first county game against Middlesex at The Oval, the first time that Surrey had fielded 4 teenagers in a Championship game since the Second World War. His first hundred in county cricket came in his third game against Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl. This was a particularly good innings, given that Hampshire were on the verge of a victory only for Pope to stand in the way and deny them one on the final day.

A part-time keeper, Pope made his List A debut in 2016, playing in the all-important Royal London Cup semi-final, where he was part of the winning side that contained 5 specialist keepers. His Twenty20 debut for Surrey came in the 2017 NatWest T20 Blast on 7th July 2017.

Pope was fast-tracked into the Test team after a prolific season in 2017 in all three formats. His Test debut came the following year against India where he was asked to bat at No.4 despite having played at six for Surrey the entire time. He played three innings and got starts in each of them, but couldn't make much of an impact. The impact came in the domestic arena though, with Pope scoring 986 runs at an average of 70.43 in Surrey's title-winning campaign.

A shoulder injury halted Pope's rise in 2019 and he had to spend time away from the game. But he made a strong return, scoring an unbeaten 221 in his first comeback game in the Championship. He also came back to the Test side on the tour to New Zealand, and was very impressive in the following tour of South Africa where he scored his first Test hundred, leading England to victory at Port Elizabeth. A chance to go back to his familiar No.6 position saw him flourish and he also scored fifties in their wins at Cape Town and Johannesburg as they sealed the series 3-1.

Pope's superb performance in South Africa was followed by a dip in form. He endured a difficult two-year phase as the runs dried up, and he was even left out of the team. But a chance to bat at three in England's red-ball revolution under Stokes and McCullum reignited his fortunes. Not only with bat, Pope has also grown into a key figure in the dressing room, taking charge in a warm-up game on the tour to New Zealand in 2023 when Stokes sat out.