Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes Ollie Pope 's excellent hundred in the second Test against New Zealand could finally lead to him fulfilling his potential as an international cricketer.
Pope made his England debut back in 2018 as a 20-year-old and is now in the midst of his 25th Test match. Despite his obvious talent, Pope had only made one century before this Test and was averaging just 27.60.
However, the new England captain and coach combination of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have given Pope a ringing endorsement, backing him to come good at number three. Before this series, Pope had never batted there before in first-class cricket but it has taken him just three innings in the position to score a Test hundred.
Making the most of a benign Trent Bridge pitch, Pope survived a couple of chances and shared big partnerships with Alex Lees and Joe Root on his way to three figures. And Vaughan is hopeful this innings "could be the one that triggers Ollie Pope into a very consistent run scorer for England".
Vaughan also backed the 24-year-old to go on and play 100 Tests for England. Taking to Twitter, he wrote: "You get the sense this innings could be the one that triggers Ollie Pope into a very consistent run scorer for England ..
"Has all the talent to be a player who will play 100 Tests .. this should give him that inner belief now .. #ENGvNZ"
Vaughan then elaborated on his views on BBC Test Match Special, suggesting Pope's century could provide him with the "belief and consistency" he needs at Test level. "Ollie Pope has just scored a magnificent century," he said.
"He is a player of huge talent and one that people have spoke about highly for many years. I just wonder if this is the innings that triggers the belief and consistency.
"Batting at three was a risk but he's got a pure wicket here and he's got to put plenty in the bank because there will another week that doesn't look at rosy at this."
