Why England gave up on Ollie Pope too late

Ollie Pope begins the new series with his position under scrutiny and he will almost certainly have to cope with the added burden of being England’s emergency wicketkeeper.

Pope has enough to do at number three and as vice-captain without having to keep wicket for the first time in red-ball cricket since the Multan Test in 2022 due to Jordan Cox’s injury.

It may be just one game with Ollie Robinson soon heading to New Zealand due to a late call-up, but it’s a headache Pope could do without after averaging 11 in Pakistan this year too there’s only one episode left to find some stability.

The reality is that despite fans’ concerns about Pope’s performances and the fact that there is now a significant body of work to judge him on, he remains an integral part of the team. Brendon McCullum described him as a “huge player for us” as England flew into Christchurch for the first Test on Thursday. Insiders believe it is too late to bring in another fresh batsman with India and Australia looming next year. Basically, they’re keeping their fingers crossed as Pope clicks.

At Queenstown at the weekend he had a rough start in the first innings against the Premier’s XI with inside and outside edges in his first 10 runs and a hit to the helmet. He regained his balance and found some mobility, scoring 42, but that was against an attack that had just eight first-class matches between them in conditions not too dissimilar to Christchurch, with plenty of life on the surface on the first day.

Now he is preparing to play for a New Zealand team that is coming back to life after a 3-0 win in India and has revived its attack at the seams as it faces the green surface at Hagley Oval. Matt Henry has taken 33 wickets this year, more than any British seamer Gus Atkinson, and 23-year-old William O’Rooke has enjoyed great success in his first seven Tests, taking 26 wickets at 19. Born in the UK while his parents worked in London, O’Rourke returned to New Zealand aged five and is playing at his home ground this week. He is 6ft 4in and has a style that has been compared to Steve Harmison, hitting the ribs and shaping the ball with his right hand.

Pope’s problem is his wild starts, which he will probably never overcome after 52 Tests. Last summer there was a terrifying statistic that showed he was the worst starter of any specialist English batsman in Test history – he was dismissed for 20 balls in 38 per cent of Test innings – more than anyone who had 35 or more innings in the top six. Hitting spinners hard early on or hitting seamers hard early in the innings is often to blame, showing an underlying irritability when he comes to bat.