Having firmed up his England place with a century against Zimbabwe Ollie Pope is eager to prove he can succeed against the best attacks in the world.
Pope hit a commanding 171 as England thrashed their unfancied opponents in less than three days at Trent Bridge, going a long way to quashing speculation that the selectors were preparing to hand his number three shirt to Jacob Bethell.
Ben Stokes offered a firm vote of confidence in his vice-captain after the match, suggesting questions over Pope’s role were not being asked inside the dressing room, but the man himself admits there is one he still needs to answer.
Can he do it against England’s two biggest rivals: India and Australia?
The 27-year-old averages 35.49 over his 56-Test career, but that drops to 24.60 against India and even more alarmingly to 15.70 in five Ashes appearances.
In the next eight months he has the chance to put that right, with a marquee clash against the Indians starting in four weeks and a hotly-anticipated trip Down Under this winter.
“I completely own that my numbers aren’t good enough against those guys and I accept that,” he said after his profitable outing in Nottingham.
“But I think I am a better player to deal with the competition ahead this summer. Hopefully over the next year I can prove that. I did that a little bit in India last year (with a match-winning 196 in Hyderabad) and look forward to doing it this summer and winter.
“I’ve been trying to work on my all-round game and everything that will make me successful in Test cricket. It’s about putting my best foot forward and play a big innings, whether we are playing Zimbabwe, India or Australia. That’s always the plan.”
Pope has earned his reputation as a good team man, stepping up to lead the side when Stokes was injured last year before deputising as stand-in wicketkeeper in New Zealand. Some players might have spread themselves less thinly, particularly as donning the gloves allowed Bethell to make a strong audition in Pope’s usual slot.
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He does not shy away from the competition, choosing instead to view it as a positive for the team.
“It’ll be good to have him back in the squad and the selectors can make their decision,” he said.
“I try not to read what’s in the media and focus on scoring my runs. It’s all noise to us, we have a tight-knit unit and we will keep chatting amongst ourselves.
“I just try to ignore it. Every time I go into a series I’m trying to make sure I’m a better player than I was before and hopefully cash in when it counts.”
England’s Test specialists will now pass the baton to the white-ball side, under the guidance of new captain Harry Brook as they take on the West Indies in ODI and T20 action over the next two weeks.
For Pope that means a chance to return to Surrey for some Vitality Blast action, increasingly secure in the notion that his England place will be waiting for him at Headingley for the first Test against India on June 20.
