"He does not have the mentality or technique" - Michael Vaughan questions Ollie Pope's spot after poor returns in ENG vs PAK 2024 Test series
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has firmly put the spotlight on Ollie Pope as the No. 3 batter suffered in a horror three-Test tour of Pakistan. The 48-year-old believes Pope lacks the mentality and technique to succeed against good bowlers and on tricky surfaces.
The Surrey batter had come to Pakistan in indifferent form already despite scoring three centuries over the home summer. However, he failed to get past even fifty in the three-Test tour of Pakistan, registering scores of 0, 29, 22, 3, and 1 as England succumbed to a 2-1 series loss.
Writing in his column for The Telegraph, Vaughan stated:
"Pope is a good player and a great lad who clearly brings a lot to this environment, which places great stock in togetherness and getting on well. Making a big change like this is never easy, and England will not want to. But his returns suggest he does not have the mentality or technique to thrive against the very best bowlers."
The 2005 Ashes-winning captain also opined that Pope's dismissals in the third Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi were very amateurish for a player having considerable experience in Asia. He elaborated:
"I don’t think he’s been consistently good enough to survive. Unless England think they can change his technique to make it simpler, and allow him to become calmer at the crease, then it is time to change. The two dismissals in this game, to be honest, were schoolboyish.
"They are the kind of dismissals you’d expect from someone who is 19 and is making their way against spin, not someone who has played 52 Tests, including 15 in Asia. It looks like he’s got no control of what he is trying to do when he plays spin."
Vaughan added that it's baffling to see the right-hander not pick a leaf out of Joe Root's book when it comes to playing spin and has hardly looked assured against any bowling. He continued:
"I never feel like I know exactly what his plan is. The opposite of that is Joe Root, who looks organized against spin, whether he makes runs or not. Pope has been very fortunate to have played 50-odd games with Root, and I’m amazed he hasn’t tried to copy him.
"If Pope and England are honest with themselves, they have to recognize that even his best innings have lacked control. I enjoy watching him bat when he’s in because there’s lots of strokes and it’s exciting. But it’s full of risk. One thing I am certain of is that Australia and India would love to see him walking out at No. 3 next year."
The youngster started his Test career by batting in the middle order and has now batted at No. 3 in 47 innings. Although he averages 40.28 in that position, he has largely been inconsistent.
"My solution would be to move Ben Stokes to No. 3" - Michael Vaughan
With England not set to play in Asia until 2027, Vaughan reckons Ben Stokes can move to No. 3 as he is good at absorbing pressure and does well against seam. He stated:
"My solution would be to move Ben Stokes to No. 3. This might seem a strange time to suggest that, given he has had another poor tour against spin. But England won’t face as much spin for a while, and Stokes has an outstanding defence against seam, and clearly isn’t going to bowl too much. Stokes is the one player who could soak up pressure."
England will next face New Zealand in an away Test series in November.