England’s No3 has had a peculiar year. Starting in Hyderabad in January, he played one of the greatest innings in Test history.
His 196 was legacy-defining, as well as match-winning. India head coach Rahul Dravid described it as the best innings he had seen by an overseas player in history. It was a remarkable moment that rubber-stamped what those in the upper echelons of the sport had been telling people for years: that the boy can play.
But then the runs dried up. In his next eight innings across the India tour he mustered just 118 runs, including a pair in the Fourth Test. Rather than his batting style being described as ‘busy’, it was instead being described as ‘frenetic’. And then, when he came back to England to play for Surrey, the runs did not return; 10 innings bringing a high score of 63 and an average of 23.
“ I wouldn’t say [ I had] doubts,” Pope said yesterday. “But you are like, ‘Why’s everyone else in the country scoring runs in county cricket but England’s No3 isn’t going out and averaging 50 this summer?’”
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