Captain, keeper, three and six – Pope shows value

Two years ago, Ollie Pope was asked to stand in as England’s wicketkeeper on the tour of Pakistan, but didn’t have any kit. He had to borrow some from Ben Foakes.

Pope remains the last England keeper to score a Test hundred overseas. Although he didn’t update that record in Christchurch on Friday, 77 on the second day of the first Test against New Zealand following a blemish-free 91 overs as the fill-in gloveman was a reminder of Pope’s value. He helped drag England from a parlous 71-4 to 319-5, just 29 behind.

In the past two months, Pope has been England captain, vice-captain, wicketkeeper, opener, number three and number six.

The only thing England haven’t asked Pope to do is drive the team bus, and that’s because the players are getting around Christchurch on escooters.

It’s been a pretty luckless period, too. When England were making 823-7 in Pakistan, the sort of number a vidiprinter would have to spell out, Pope was out for a duck. His use of DRS could have stood for dreadful reviews, skipper.

Perhaps it should therefore have come as no surprise that, on a day when New Zealand coated their hands in butter and dropped six catches, Pope was the victim of a gravity-bending worldie from Glenn Phillips.

Harry Brook, beneficiary of four of the drops in his 132 not out, apologised to Pope as he departed.

Pope was pragmatic. 77 is 77 when you haven’t managed to make it to 30 since September.

“In Pakistan, I missed out on a real flat one and then wasn’t able to find a way as well as I would’ve liked in the other two Tests,” he told BBC Sport.

“I looked within at how I can keep taking my game forward. I worked hard in between series so it’s nice to see the rewards and hopefully I can kick on throughout the rest of the series.”

It has been a curious 2024 for the 26-year-old. Pope’s 196 in the first Test of the year, an all-time great win against India in Hyderabad, will live forever as one of the best knocks played by an Englishman overseas.

But it has been feast or famine. Two more centuries and little else. Despite the runs in Christchurch, Pope retains the unwanted record of the lowest average, 33.73, for any Test batter with three tons in a calendar year.

A historical problem is the act of getting in, surviving long enough to give himself a chance of a score. In 48 of his 88 Test innings, Pope has been dismissed inside 30 deliveries.

How Pope would love the calmness of Jacob Bethell, who was entirely unfazed as the temporary number three in Christchurch.

Whether or not the 21-year-old should be batting that high or even in the team is another debate. He only made 10, yet was not out of his depth against quality bowling in demanding conditions.

In that search for serenity, Pope has gone to his Surrey confidant Alec Stewart, who himself knows all about versatility. Stewart was England captain, vice-captain, keeper and batted in every position from one to seven. He also bowled a few overs on the tour of the West Indies in 1994.

“Rather than allowing voices and noises to slow me down, it was more about what I can do to be a better player,” said Pope. “It’s just that calmness at the crease and I had that today.

“I probably spent too long looking elsewhere, rather than within. There’s always going to be criticism, there’s always going to be a lot of voices and that’s fine. It’s just being at peace with that, rather than worrying too much about what people say.”

It always seemed a safe bet that Pope would contribute with the bat in Christchurch. Coming in down the order at number six is a simpler task than number three, while a focus on the glovework was probably a distraction from the pressure of scoring runs.

England have rightly been questioned for taking a lopsided squad to New Zealand – three spinners and no reserve specialist keeper – a selection that left them short when Jordan Cox broke his thumb.

Pope, ever the team man, covered the error with a faultless display. He is no higher than fourth-choice keeper at Surrey, though not a complete novice. He will keep in the Big Bash for Adelaide Strikers and his nine first-class matches behind the stumps is more than Cox’s six.

Even with Durham’s Ollie Robinson arriving as cover on Saturday, Pope may now be inked in for the rest of the series. He gives England flexibility in the future, possibly freeing up a space in the squad for a badly needed reserve opener.

“I obviously don’t do a lot of keeping, but if I can be someone that can do it, we don’t necessarily have to take a spare keeper on tour,” he said. “It’s a skillset I want to have for myself, but also for the team.”

Still, whether standing in as captain, keeper or kit man, Pope’s primary job is to score runs. It is hard to see how England win the biggest series, like the Ashes in Australia, without him doing so.

In having success at six, Pope may have reignited a debate about his best position. He averages 40 at three, at least eight runs more than anywhere else he’s batted. However, of all England players to have played at least 40 innings at first-drop, only Mark Butcher, Ian Bell and Johnny Tyldesley have a worse average than Pope.

Unless Bethell does something irresistible on this tour, Pope will return to number three when father-to-be Jamie Smith reclaims the gloves. Maybe there could be an element of flexibility. This writer has suggested Smith as a three, while Michael Vaughan has proposed teams with more than one keeper should share the gloves around during Tests to ward off fatigue.

The biggest thing in Pope’s favour is he wants to do the job. English cricket isn’t blessed with top-order batters demanding Test selection. Joe Root, the GOAT and most qualified, does not want to bat at three, either.

“I love number three,” said Pope. “Being able to get through those tough times is what I want to be doing. I pride myself on being at three, where you’ve got such an opportunity to set up a whole game for your team.

“If you can get through that tricky period, then that’s something I really want to do.”

Maybe Pope has just come through his tricky period.