Sir Alastair Cook explains why England should pick Ollie Pope over Jacob Bethell against India
Former England Test captain Sir Alastair Cook has explained why he thinks Ollie Pope should be selected ahead of Jacob Bethell for the upcoming India series.
Pope, the current England vice-captain, scored a mammoth 171 as Zimbabwe were soundly beaten at Trent Bridge in the only Test match of the summer so far.
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But he is battling with youngster Bethell for the number three slot ahead of India's five-match series in England.
Speaking at the launch of The Overlap and Betfair's Stick to Cricket show, Cook said: 'Ollie Pope's 170 meant a lot to me, he and [Zak] Crawley were under the pump and they delivered.'
Cook was speaking with former England captain Michael Vaughan, ex-spinner Phil 'Tuffers' Tufnell and former England player and fan-favourite broadcaster David 'Bumble' Lloyd.
Ollie Pope scored a century against Zimbabwe (Action Images via Reuters)
'When I left New Zealand I thought they'll go with Jacob Bethell but if he isn't leaving the IPL to come and play a test match, for whatever reason that it, it's not a punishment, but that's the way the cards have fallen whether it's Bethell's fault or not,' Cook said. 'If he's that desperate to play I would have said he would have come out and played, then he'd have guaranteed his England selection. I don't care what's going on behind the scenes on that.'
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Both Pope and Bethell are named in the 14-man squad for the opening Test, which begins at Headingley on Friday, June 20. Warwickshire's Bethell has played three Tests, and was an important fixture of the ODI and IT20s whitewashes of the West Indies over recent weeks. However, he missed the one-off Test against Zimbabwe.
Cook, who is one of only three England captains to win multiple Ashes on home soil, looked ahead to this winter's trip to Australia as the conversation over who to pick at number three between Pope and 21-year-old Bethell rumbles on.
He said: 'Will Pope play at number three in Perth? He's in possession at the minute and we'll find out if he's good enough against the likes of Jasprit Bumrah.
Sir Alistair Cook on the new Stick to Cricket show (Betfair/Stick to Cricket)
'The issue I've always said about Pope, and I don't think this changes, is his first 20 balls, Tuffers [Phil Tufnell] is more likely to get through his first 20 balls.
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'Lots of judges of players have said that Bethell is really good, but at Warwickshire he struggled like a year ago, he struggled and was batting six behind [Sam] Hain, [Alex] Davies and guys that were picked ahead of him all the time.'
Bethell has an average of 52.00 from his six Test innings to date, high-scoring with a 92 against New Zealand in December.
Meanwhile, Pope has an average of 35.49 from the 56 matches he has played for his nation, notching eight hundreds and 15 half-centuries.
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Betfair are set for a big summer and winter of cricket, launching a new show with The Overlap: Stick to Cricket. Don't miss the first episode next week, where the team will be reviewing the opening test of the series between England and India.
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