England middle-order bat Ollie Pope has been ruled out of the remainder of the Ashes 2023 series after hurting his shoulder in the second Test against Australia which was played at Lord’s. The cricketer had also played in the first Test of the series.
Thus far he had scores of 31,14, 42 and 3 as England lost both the Test matches to go 0-2 down in the five-Test series.
Pope, who averages 34.45 from 38 Tests, has struggled with shoulder injuries before, twice spending lengthy stints rehabilitating after dislocating his left shoulder. He has made 90 runs in four innings this series, having started the Test summer with a maiden double-century against Ireland at Lord’s.
Ollie Pope To Undergo Surgery To Repair Dislocated Shoulder
Pope, who has already experienced two shoulder dislocations, had a scan on Monday in London that revealed the full extent of the ailment. He will have surgery, miss the remaining three Test matches against Australia, and then start his recovery under the supervision of the England and Surrey medical staffs.
On day three of the Lord’s Test, when the umpires demanded him take the field after batting in England’s first innings and scoring 42 runs, Pope further injured his shoulder after injuring it diving for a ball on day one.
Pope is also England’s designated vice-captain, although that leadership gap is straightforward to fill, with Stuart Broad likely to step up as Ben Stokes’ deputy, having fulfilled the role unofficially last summer.
The closest replacement that can be made is Dan Lawrence. With England opting not to identify a substitute in their lineup, he is already the lone backup batter in the lineup. He has also been in excellent domestic form, amassing 491 runs at a 44.63 average for Essex with two hundreds.
Another choice may be to bring back Moeen Ali from his finger injury and move the other batters up the order, which would force Joe Root back to the No. 3 spot. Harry Brook might perhaps be given some thought for the part.