As a survivor from England’s 3-1 defeat in India three years ago, the pandemic tour in which they were spun out and then some, Ollie Pope could easily view the impending reunion with Ravichandran Ashwin and co with a sense of trepidation.
After all, pretty much everyone expects a similar diet of challenging tracks for the five-Test series that starts in Hyderabad on 25 January. A fairly heavy hint came after India’s recent 1-1 draw in South Africa, too, Rohit Sharma taking no issue with the extreme seaming conditions his side had faced “as long as everyone keeps their mouth shut” about Indian pitches.
But having been glued to that rapid-fire series from the comfort of his sofa in London, Pope sounds genuinely enticed by this prospect. A quick game is a good game, he says, and if there are any English grumbles about conditions – old powers moaning, as per Sunil Gavaskar in a recent newspaper column – they won’t come from the squad itself.
“There will be a lot of outside noise,” says Pope, speaking before England flew out to their Abu Dhabi training camp during the week. “And pitches can be a massive talking point. But you have to remember the two teams are playing on the exact same wicket, so we just need to be as well equipped as we can.
“In England we might leave more grass on the pitch to suit our amazing seamers, so it’s no surprise if India do the same to suit their spinners. And I actually think low-scoring Test matches [where ball has the edge over bat] are pretty amazing to watch.
“I saw a fair bit of South Africa versus India and it was great: guys scoring seriously tough runs and the ball flying through. The scores could be similar in India but if the pitches spin from ball one we won’t be complaining. It’s about finding a method to combat it.”
Those methods slightly evaporated last time, a 227-run win on a flat one in Chennai through Joe Root’s epic 218 followed by three successive defeats when the surfaces became more capricious. Pope passed 20 in four of his eight innings but 34 was his highest score – a chastening, and he says, instructive introduction to India.
“We had some young guys on that tour,” says Pope. “Myself, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes – it was our first India tour and we were probably taken by surprise when it turned from ball one [after the first Test]. But if we had read the pitch well enough and quickly enough …
“I look at the guys who were most successful, Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant, they didn’t rotate strike a huge amount. That’s tough to do on those pitches, you can’t just work spin around like in England. You need a really solid defence but also four and six options, to hit the spinners off their length.
“The danger ball last time was the one that went straight on – the ones that spun almost spun too much. It’s like in England when the [seaming] ball goes past your outside edge, you play it well with soft hands or miss it. It’s a case of being at peace with being beaten – that’s almost a win if you’re covering [lbw and bowled].”
Four and six options are very much England’s thing these days, their Test cricket transformed since that wretched tour. A self-fulfilling sense of doom appeared to set in back then – amplified by the Covid bubble restrictions, no question – but there has been a commitment to positive thinking under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum since.
Their collective aggression has not yet been truly tested in a spin-dominated series, however, albeit day one against Pakistan in Multan last winter, when England ransacked 281 in 51 overs for what proved a match-winning first-innings total, is perhaps one such experience. As Pope puts it, a run-a-ball 60 could well be a match-winning contribution.
The right-hander is among those to prosper in the current environment. As well as finding a home at No 3, where he averages 45 and has seen his strike rate jump from 50 to 77, Pope has been elevated to vice-captain. The 26-year-old says he has mentally prepared himself to lead should Stokes suffer an injury, the plan to deliver the same messaging “but in my own way”.
A sense of unfinished business comes across, too, after Pope’s Ashes summer was ruined midway through the second Test by a dislocated shoulder. It was the third of his career, this time on his right side and, like the left one, requiring surgery. He should slot straight back in, although with Foakes pushing to return given his specialism keeping to the spinners, a member of the regular top seven may well make way.
Pope’s case is helped by his prowess at short leg, a position few relish – Essex apparently paid danger money to fielders stationed there in the late 1980s – but he genuinely appears to. “I might put that one forward,” he laughs, when that old bonus system at Chelmsford is mentioned. “It’s actually really fun and on spinning pitches can almost be as important as wicketkeeper – taking half-chances can be the difference between winning and losing.
“I’m not much of a chirper there, it’s more about presence. India are really good at it. When you start an innings, they have men around the bat and really create an atmosphere. That’s what we want to do: to add that little bit of pressure, get the new batter pushing a bit harder and maybe create a chance.” Under the lid, with bat in hand or even leading the side, Pope seemingly can’t wait for another spin cycle.
