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England thumped Pakistan by an innings and 47 runs in the first of the three Tests on their winter tour of Pakistan. The victory was special because it was the first time in Test cricket history that a team lost by an innings after scoring over 500 runs in their first innings.
The English batters made merry and scored a mammoth 823/7 (declared) against a hapless Pakistan bowling attack. However, their stand-in skipper Ollie Pope failed to open his account. Ben Stokes, the regular English Test skipper, missed the first Test due to an injury. He is likely to be fit for the second Test commencing on October 15, 2024, in Multan.
Naseer Hussain, the former English skipper who is an analyst and a commentator, believes that Ollie Pope could make way for Ben Stokes in the second Test. After the conclusion of the first Test, Hussain said on Sky Sports:
"If he's (Ben Stokes) playing as a batter only, then Ollie Pope is the most vulnerable. I know he's captain, but he won't be if Ben plays. It's a tricky one: if he can bowl a bit, you could maybe bring him in for the second spinner."
Ollie Pope led England in Stokes' absence in the first Test.
#1 Ollie Pope's recent form and numbers in the sub-continent
Pope was the only English batter who failed to score a run in the first Test. In 2024, two of his three Test hundreds have been on home soil. He averages 35.48 in 21 Test innings this year. He has nine single-digit scores in 21 innings.
Pope averages 26 in 18 innings in India and averages 39.67 in Pakistan in six innings. However, he has failed to get going in Multan, one of the flattest batting wickets in Pakistan, and averages 21.33 in three innings at the venue. Co-incidentally, Multan is also the venue for the second Test.
#2 Pope's competitors
Joe Root and Harry Brook are an indispensable part of the English middle order. The duo added 454 runs in the first Test which was the highest-ever partnership for England in Test cricket.
Brook has now scored four centuries in four Tests in Pakistan and averages a healthy 130.83. Root, on the other hand, is now the fifth-highest run-getter in the history of Test cricket and his golden run in Test cricket continues.
The opening duo of Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett have been instrumental in getting England off to flying starts at a rapid pace in Test cricket. Crawley averages almost 39 with the bat in 15 innings in Tests this year. In seven innings on Pakistan soil, Crawley averages almost 45 and has a liking for Pakistan bowling.
Ben Duckett has re-invented himself as a batter in the Bazball era. He averages almost 38 with the bat this year in Test cricket. In Pakistan, Duckett averages 73.50 with the bat in seven innings in Pakistan.
It is thus clear that the trio of Brook, Crawley, and Duckett enjoy an advantage over Pope as they have fared better in Tests in 2024 and enjoy a better record in Pakistan.
#3 Ben Stokes - The automatic choice in the playing X1
The England Test skipper has been instrumental in the side's success in red-ball cricket in the recent past. All the batters have been given the freedom to express themselves and play attacking cricket from the outset under the leadership of Stokes.
Though Stokes averages 27.93 in 15 Test innings in 2024, his mere presence in the middle order is reassuring for the team. Add to that his leadership skills and he is an automatic choice for England in the playing X1 even if he chooses not to bowl due to an injury.
Conclusion-
Ollie Pope could be the scapegoat and be dropped for the second Test if Ben Stokes is fit for the same. He hasn't been totally out of touch and has scored three Test hundreds this year but he has been inconsistent in the longest format. Add to that, the other English batters have been in astounding form in Test cricket in 2024.
Further, England would look to field five bowlers for the second Test, as they did in the first. This could lead to Pope's exclusion from the playing X1 for the second Test in Multan.
