Thursday, September 19, 2024

England v West Indies third Test: Ollie Pope says ‘ruthless’ England can score 600 runs in a day

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Pope was one of three England centurions in the second Test alongside Joe Root and Harry Brook.

He acknowledged there are times England’s batters will have to “manage the game a little bit more” but that their attacking approach has now become second nature.

The 26-year-old also feels England could smash the record for the number of runs scored in a day of Test cricket with the buccaneering ‘Bazball’ style fostered by coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes

Sri Lanka’s total of 509-9 against Bangladesh in July 2002 is the highest total made by a team in a day of Test cricket.

England fell just three runs short of eclipsing that against Pakistan in Rawalpindi back in December 2022, but Pope reckons they could go much bigger.

“I got asked on day one ‘do you get told to play like that?’. No, we don’t. It’s just our natural games and the way we go about it,” Pope added.

“Sometimes we might score 280-300 in a day but that’s OK and probably because we’re reading situations.

“There might also be a day where we go and get 500 to 600 at some point in the future as well. And that’s a cool thing to have.”

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