England’s batting coach, Marcus Trescothick, has supported Ollie Pope amidst a recent dip in form, emphasizing that exposure to challenging conditions will contribute to his improvement.
Despite starting the series with a duck, Pope displayed brilliance with a remarkable 196 in Hyderabad, leading England to a 28-run victory. However, his form has declined with scores of 23, 23, 39, 3, 0, 0, and 11 in subsequent innings.
In an interview with BBC Sport, Trescothick indicated that Pope’s current challenges will ultimately contribute to his growth as a better player.
“He’s adapted really well in certain conditions and certain parts of his game. The more he’s tested and plays in these environments and tougher conditions, he’s going to improve. After that 196 in the first game, we saw a vast improvement. It’s just keeping growing that and encouraging that and he’ll be a better player for it.”
In the fifth Test against India, Kuldeep Yadav outsmarted Ollie Pope with a googly as the right-handed batsman advanced down the track. Dhruv Jurel swiftly completed a straightforward stumping, dismissing the Englishman for 11.
“Starting an innings is always tough here”- Marcus Trescothick
Despite Ollie Pope’s low scores, the 48-year-old believes certain aspects of his game are improving.
“Getting into an innings is always challenging over here, as is facing high-quality spin. That is a part of his game he is looking to improve on. I think we’d all agree that after his 196 in Hyderabad we had seen an improvement and we saw parts of his game that are definitely getting better. Let’s keep allowing that to happen.”
England, positioned at 175/3, had a chance to compile a respectable total. Unfortunately, they slumped to 218, with only Zak Crawley managing to secure a half-century. Kuldeep Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin collaborated to claim nine wickets.
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