Ollie Pope: England batter says ‘BazBall’ approach has taken pressure off him in Test cricket | Cricket News

England batsman Ollie Pope says the team’s positive approach to Test cricket over the past year under head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes has helped ease any pre-game anxiety.

Under McCullum and Stokes’ unique brand of cricket, dubbed ‘Bazball’ in tribute to the new coach, England have won 10 of their last 12 Test matches, having won just one of their previous 17 matches.

During that spell, Pope – who made his Test debut in 2018 – seemed to have finally established himself in the batting side at number three, with his Test average rising by 10 runs from 28.66 to 38.52 in the last 12 months.

“I used to go into the Test series probably more worried than excited,” Pope said Sky Sports.

“I would think ‘if I don’t do well, this could be my last.’

Tuesday, March 14, 8:30

“But we’re a close-knit group, playing a fun brand of cricket, so that takes the pressure off.

“You have made Test cricket 10 times more exciting for everyone in the dressing room. We have seen it with the results on the field.”

“We are constantly learning. Even Joe Root, who can be the greatest batsman in England, probably feels like he just broke up now, after a while he felt like he was trying to force things that he didn’t need. .”

‘Pakistan Tests Extreme Winter Peak’

England, last summer, completed a 3-0 whitewash of New Zealand and beat South Africa 2-1 – with a solitary Test win over India sandwiched in between. During the winter, they became the first team in history to beat Pakistan 3-0 at home, before setting up a two-Test tour of New Zealand in the most exciting of conditions.

After winning the first Test at a canter by 267 runs, England lost by one run in Wellington while chasing 258 to win in one of the greatest Test matches ever played.

With a range of highlights to choose from, Pope chose the first day of the first Test in Pakistan, with the tourists amassing a massive 506 runs for the loss of just four wickets in 75.0 overs.

With England’s only 74-run win in the final session on the fifth day of the Test, Pope – who notched his third Test ton in the first innings – believes his approach on the opening day is key to setting up success for the future.

“It’s a shame we can’t come back with a [series] win from New Zealand, but the chats after the last Test when we lost by one run were, ‘how to entertain it?'”, Pope said.

“It was an amazing season. We went from two extremes: Pakistan, where you face a lot of spin, to New Zealand, where we played on some pretty good wickets actually.

“The first Test in Pakistan has to be the highlight. This is probably the biggest step for us.

“It’s a crazy first day. But we don’t talk about, ‘let’s bang, the pitch looks flat’. The way we recommend to play, is that it happens naturally and unfolds naturally.

“We were able to drive the game quickly with the bat, so the extra day was able to score.

“We are ready to put ourselves in a position to lose a game that we feel we have dominated for four days, to give ourselves a better chance to win and go 1-0 in the series.”

Pope: ‘There is no conversation’ about the role of the white ball

The Pope now has some time off, after the England football white tour of Bangladesh from the inside Sky Sports studio ahead of the return to Surrey in preparation for the start of the county summer – and with the Ashes series on the horizon in June.

Not yet to play for England in one of the shorter formats, and with England are lacking in batting depth for the T20 leg of their tourThe pope was asked if he wanted to participate.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Any opportunity to play for your country is one you have to take – and now we’ve got a break.

“At the minute, the message is to keep putting that third point [in Test cricket]. No conversation was possible.

“Honestly, over the last few years, I haven’t played as much white-ball cricket as I would have liked.”