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Ollie Pope has
declared himself available for Surrey’s County Championship opener at Old
Trafford against Lancashire. He says he is totally focused on providing Alec
Stewart with the trophy-filled farewell he deserves, as Stewart begins his
final season as the club’s director of cricket following eleven ground-breaking
years in that capacity.
Pope turned down the opportunity for a break, partly to make up for missing
seven months of action due to a shoulder injury sustained during last year’s
Ashes, but also because he feels “frustrated” by his inability to get
going in India, where he was limited to 118 runs at 14.75 in the final four
Tests. Pope’s 196 against India at Hyderabad was the standout performance on
England’s recent Test tour of India.
“I feel pretty
fresh,” Pope said during the launch of Rado as the official timing partner
of England cricket. “If I had scored another three 70s or something in the
series, I might be feeling slightly differently, but I almost feel frustrated.
I feel like I’m in really good nick without putting together those scores. So
hopefully I can go and find that rhythm of putting together big scores at No.
3, unless Stewie drops me!”
Pope’s lowest point
in India was two wickets in the fourth Test match in Ranchi. However, his two
consecutive dismissals in the series final in Dharamsala, when he was bowled
out for eleven in the first innings and then caught off guard by a top-edged sweep
for nineteen in the second, drew criticism for his frenzied style of play at
the top of an innings.
Surrey is hoping to
win three County Championship crowns in a row, something Yorkshire last
accomplished in 1968, and Pope’s availability is a plus. However, Pope
acknowledges that he is “gutted” by the news of Stewart’s probable
departure, which was announced to the team last Thursday. Pope is one of
the core group of young players, along with Sam Curran, Tom Curran, and Will
Jacks, around whom the club’s recent success has been built.
“I sadly missed the meeting when he announced it to the boys, but I had a
phone call with him straight after,” Pope said. “I can’t imagine a
club where you don’t see Stewie in at 6am every day, on the rowing machine, or
on the treadmill, or doing some weights. That’s because he loves the club and
loves being here. And he’s also ridiculous at his job as well.”