Ollie Pope

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 batsman who sometimes plays as a wicket-keeper.[2]

Ollie Pope
Personal information
Full nameOliver John Douglas Pope
Born (1998-01-02) 2 January 1998
Chelsea, London, England
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
BattingRight-handed
RoleBatsman, Wicket-keeper
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 687)9 August 2018 v India
Last Test5 February 2021 v India
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2016–presentSurrey (squad no. 32)
Career statistics
Competition Test FC LA T20
Matches 14 44 28 36
Runs scored 707 3,034 751 736
Batting average 37.21 54.17 37.55 28.30
100s/50s 1/5 9/12 0/5 0/0
Top score 135* 251 93* 48
Catches/stumpings 16/0 52/0 8/0 15/0
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 9 February 2021

Domestic career

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 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 against Hampshire at the end of the 2017 season.

Pope batting for Surrey in 2019

During the 2017/18 winter, he was selected for the ECB's overseas placement programme in Australia whereby he played for Campbelltown-Camden District Cricket Club in the NSW Premier Cricket.[9] 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 is also the club's vice-president.[10] He then had a breakout year in 2018 where he averaged 70 in Surrey's County Championship-winning campaign and was awarded the PCA Young Player of the Year award.[11] Pope further supplemented this in the 2019 season, as he was the highest-scoring Surrey batsman in their first-class season with 812 runs at an average of 101 across only 9 innings.

International career

In August 2018, he was added to England's squad for the second Test against India.[12] He made his Test debut at Lord's for England against India on 9 August 2018.[13] Later that season, Pope was selected for England's tour of Sri Lanka. [14] 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. [15]

During a strong 2019 season, Pope was called up as cover for Jason Roy before the 3rd Ashes Test at Headingley.[16] Although Roy was eventually passed fit to play, this saw him back in the International picture and a month later he was called up to the England Test squad to face New Zealand.[17] In the second Test at Hamilton, Pope made 75 runs in England's only innings.[18] Pope then toured South Africa but missed the first test through 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.[19]

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.[20][21] 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.[22][23] On 4 July 2020, Pope was named in England's thirteen-man squad for the first Test match of the series.[24][25]

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.[26] 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..[27] He was also not originally included for England's 2021 tour of India, though again he accompanied the tour party, but was added on 3 February 2021 after the England medical team were satisfied he had recovered sufficiently.[28]

References
  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 2020). "How School Provided a Firm Foundation for Pope's Rise". Daily Telegraph.
  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. 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 given overseas placement in Sydney". Surrey County Cricket Club. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  10. "Ollie Pope: How the Vatican, snakes and laundry made England's new batsman". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  11. "Pope Wins PCA Young Player Of The Year - Kia Oval". www.kiaoval.com. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
  12. "England v India: Ollie Pope replaces Dawid Malan for second Test at Lord's". BBC Sport. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  13. "2nd Test, India tour of Ireland and England at London, Aug 9-13 2018". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  14. 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.
  15. "Ollie Pope to leave England tour to join up with Lions and face Pakistan A". The Independent. 11 November 2018.
  16. "Pope called up as cover for Ashes Test". Surrey CCC. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  17. "Bairstow dropped from England Test squad for New Zealand series". ICC Cricket. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  18. "England's Joe Root praises Ollie Pope's maturity after second Test stand". The Guardian. London, UK. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  19. "Ollie Pope scores maiden Test hundred as England dominate South Africa on day two". Sky Sports. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  20. "England Men confirm back-to-training group". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  21. "Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett left out as England name 55-man training group". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  22. "England announce 30-man training squad ahead of first West Indies Test". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  23. "Moeen Ali back in Test frame as England name 30-man training squad". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  24. "England name squad for first Test against West Indies". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  25. "England v West Indies: Dom Bess in squad, Jack Leach misses out". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  26. "Ollie Pope". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  27. "Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer rested for England Test tour of Sri Lanka". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  28. "Ollie Pope added to Test squad for India series". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
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