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England batter Ollie Pope was delighted to have Arsenal's goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale coming to watch Day 1 of the second Test against the West Indies at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Thursday, July 18. Pope stated that Ramsdale seems to be his lucky charm.
The right-handed batter brought up his sixth Test hundred on the opening day in Nottingham as England rallied around him to reach 416. Pope brought up his century off 142 deliveries in the 47th over before perishing for 121.
Speaking after the day's play, Pope claimed he is a massive Arsenal fan and hence got Ramsdale a couple of tickets. He was quoted as saying by BBC Sport:
"He messaged me last night and I managed to sort him a couple of tickets. He can come more often. I'm obviously a big Arsenal fan so I go to support him a fair bit. He seems to be my lucky charm on the cricket pitch as well."
The vice-captain got two lifelines due to the West Indies' poor catching as they dropped him on 46 and 54.
"I think I know how the West Indies try to come at us as a seam attack" - Ollie Pope
Pope added that he single-mindedly looked to put the pressure back on the Windies and didn't feel like trying too hard. The 26-year-old said (via Sky Sports):
"I've put in a fair bit of hard work before this series and I think I know how the West Indies try to come at us as a seam attack. They get the ball swinging and use their short ball, it's a strong attack, for me it was about putting them under pressure and then the dropped catches were handy. We found a way to put them back under pressure and I didn't feel like I had to try too much."
Opener Ben Duckett's role was equally crucial as he struck 71 off only 59 deliveries with the aid of 14 boundaries, adding 104 runs for the second wicket with Pope. The likes of Harry Brook (36), Ben Stokes (69), Jamie Smith (36), and Chris Woakes (37) also chipped in with crucial runs.
