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Virat Kohli and his men are having a tough summer in England, which began with a successful T20I campaign. The vulnerability of Indian batters in the English conditions has been exposed once again in Tests, as the veteran English seamer James Anderson enjoyed bowling to the Indian batters yesterday (August 10) in the second Test of the five-match Test series at Lord's in London.
After a narrow defeat in the first Test, the Indian batting lineup danced to the English swing tunes as they could accumulate only 107 runs in the first innings of a rain-marred Test match. In the English camp, a 22-year-old is making his presence felt with his fearlessness, which helped him score a crucial 28 runs in his debut. Oliver John Douglas Pope or 'Ollie' was not a name known to many before he was included in the English squad. A fearless 38-ball 28 left many cricket enthusiasts searching for his bio-data on the internet. The Vatican City is left empty as Pope is currently doing his bit with the bat at Lord's. So who is Ollie Pope? Here are five things to know about him.
#5 Out of the 'blue'
While the English batters are dealing with the Indian pacers at Lord's, Chelsea are playing away against Huddersfield Town in their opening Premier League game. Pope is very familiar with The Pensioners and their home, Stamford Bridge, as he is a lad from Middlesex. His selection came out of the 'blue' as not many knew much about the cricketer. A massive rise in the number of followers across social media platforms came alongside his selection.
#4 Gained experience in Australia
Don't let the tender age of Ollie Pope mislead you into believing that he lacks experience. Though he may not have international experience, he played Grade cricket in Australia for Campbelltown-Camden in Sydney. He made a name for himself Down Under by scoring 997 runs in 23 games.
#3 Already a winner against India
This ongoing match is not the first team where Pope is dealing with Indian bowlers. He has already faced the upcoming generation of Indian cricketers in a game against India A. Playing for England Lions, Pope smashed an unbeaten 50 and took 3 catches, banking on which the Lions won by a massive margin of 253 runs.
#2 The debut hindrance
The debut for any cricketer is surely a special occasion, but it brings interesting incidents in case of Pope. The rumours of a leaked team sheet, which later proved false, and incessant rain marred his international debut. His County Championship debut has even a funnier story to it.
Pope debuted for Surrey against his local club Middlesex in August 2017. Though he managed to score only 25 runs, the game came to an abrupt end when the umpires decided to abandon the match after a crossbow was fired to the pitch.
#1 Words of wisdom from the master
After Pope's selection, there were some criticisms directed at England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for picking an inexperienced player for such a vital series. The master himself, Sachin Tendulkar gave a dosage of motivation to the youngster by saying that if someone is good, he must get a chance and age should not be considered during selection. For the record, Tendulkar made his debut when he was not even an adult.
