Ashes 2019: Ollie Pope Joins England Team For The Third Test As The Cover For Jason Roy
Aug 22, 2019 at 10:56 AM
As the cover for Jason Roy, the 21-year-old Ollie Pope has been added in the England cricket team squad for the third Test of the ongoing Ashes 2019.
Trailing by 1-0 in the ongoing Ashes 2019, the hosts England will face Australia in the third Test at Headingley (Leeds) from Thursday (22nd August).
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During the practice on Tuesday (20th August), English opener Jason Roy got a blow on his helmet. Former English opener Marcus Trescothick’s one throw-down hit Roy’s helmet. After assessing the condition, Roy continued his batting.
Meanwhile, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has added Ollie Pope in the third Test squad as the cover for Jason Roy.
Ollie Pope recently scored 221 runs
Pope was busy in the ongoing County Championship Division One game for Surrey against Hampshire at The Oval. While Surrey managed to score 579/7 (decl.) in their first innings, Pope was not out on 221 runs off 337 balls. The young right-handed batsman hit 22 fours in that incredible batting performance.
Due to the national team call-up, Pope even missed out the final day of The Oval game between Surrey and Hampshire. Surrey Cricket confirmed this news with their official Twitter account.
Ollie Pope made his international cricket debut during the Lord’s Test against India in August 2018. The right-handed batsman has played two Tests where he has scored 54 runs with an average of 18.00.
In the first-class career, Pope has played 27 matches where he has scored 1,805 runs with an outstanding average of 53.08. He has scored six centuries and five half-centuries in the first-class career. His highest first-class knock was 251 runs.
Jason Roy is ok at present
On the other hand, Jason Roy has passed the concussion test on Wednesday (21st August). So, he is likely to be available for the upcoming Leeds Test.
During the second Test at Lord’s, Australian cricketer Steven Smith received a massive blow on his neck while he was batting on the day four. Though he returned to the bat at later, he missed out the final day of that Test match due to the after-effects of concussion. In result, Marnus Labuschagne became the first concussion substitute in international cricket history.
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Meanwhile, Marnus Labuschagne also received a hit on his helmet when he was facing the left-arm Aussie pacer Mitchell Starc in practice on Tuesday. Luckily, he is also in no danger position.