EXCLUSIVE: Ian Chappell pinpoints the ‘skittish’ England star Australia should target in the Ashes
Ian Chappell has pinpointed one England player who could have his work cut out for him in the Ashes, with pressure mounting on Ollie Pope before a ball has been bowled.
Pope has a fair Test record to date, having scored nine centuries for England and averaging in the mid-30s across his 61 appearances on the biggest stage.
However, the 27-year-old is looking over his shoulder, with young gun Jacob Bethell named in the wider squad for the five-game series against Australia.
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Bethell has played a handful of Tests early in his career and could feature at some stage over the Aussie summer, with those inside the England set-up high on the 22-year-old.
Jacob Bethell Getty
Speaking on Wide World of Sports’ Outside The Rope before the first game in Perth this week, Chappell was quizzed on whether he saw Bethell playing a role in the Ashes and where he stood on Pope’s place in the side.
While he doesn’t believe Bethell is a sure thing to play, he said Pope is a player the hosts will look to target – especially if he walks out early in an innings to face a newer ball.
“I’m not so sure about that [Bethell taking his place], but if I’m an Australian player, I’m very happy to see Pope at three,” the former Australian captain said.
“Pope’s a twitchy player, he doesn’t exude confidence at three.
“When your No.3 walks out, you want to be thinking as the team in the dressing room ‘this fella gives us a lot of confidence’.
“Ricky Ponting walks out at No.3 and you’re thinking not only is he likely to survive against some good bowling early on, but he can counter-attack as well.
“Pope is skittish, he is jumpy – so I would be very happy as an Australian player seeing him at three – but I’m not sure we’re gonna see Bethell in this series.”
Ollie Pope Getty
The past 12 months have been rather tough for Pope, having struggled against Pakistan on the road before notching two half-centuries in a mixed campaign against New Zealand.
A century in the first Test on home soil against India in June made it seem like Pope may have returned to form, but he struggled for the rest of the series with only one score above 50 and three scores below 10 against a quality attack.
Pope will be given a fair grace period in the Ashes but the comments from Chappell could ring alarm bells within both camps for entirely different reasons.
The first Test begins on Friday afternoon (AEDT) in Perth.
