It is a measure of the maverick nature of this selection panel that nobody in the media was quite sure which way the wind was blowing, even as late as Wednesday afternoon. Jacob Bethell or Ollie Pope at No3? As though to troll the press pack, the England coaches batted them alongside each other in the nets. There were no clues to be had.
The announcement shortly afterwards meant that England had put their Captain Sensible hat on, rewarding Pope who had made 171 in an impressive start to the Test summer only a month ago. Even by their own standards it would have been quite the move to drop Pope, albeit his runs were made against Zimbabwe, whose bowling was of county standard at best — and for much of the first day of that game well below that. Ben Stokes, the captain, had spoken so positively about him after the Zimbabwe Test that it would have been hard for him to look his deputy in the eye.
Is it the right move? It is probably the only call they could have made in the circumstances, following the (mistaken, in my view) decision not to recall Bethell from the Indian Premier League in time for the Zimbabwe Test. His IPL involvement and the decision to play him in the white-ball games against West Indies (to give Harry Brook his strongest team) means that Bethell has not played a first-class game this calendar year.
Pope and Bethell, right, batted next to each other in the nets at Headingley before the first Test
GARETH COPLEY/GETTY IMAGES
Decisions over batsmen tend to carry more weight and consequence than with bowlers, who get injured more often and who can be rested and rotated to provide opportunities for others. Not so with batsmen, who play until they don’t. The downside to all this as far as Bethell is concerned is that he will have to wait to gain valuable exposure and you wouldn’t want him to go into the Ashes with so little Test experience under his belt.
It has been an entirely unusual set of circumstances that has led us here. First was the decision to pick Bethell for the New Zealand tour last winter, despite not having made a hundred in any type of professional cricket and despite his county, Warwickshire, offering him scant opportunity up the order. It was not the first intriguing call made by the managing director Rob Key’s selection panel and once again they showed they have an eye for a special talent and the bravery to back their judgment.
Then came a number of hard-to-predict circumstances; events, dear boy, events as Key did not quite say. First, Jamie Smith became a father and took his paternity leave for the New Zealand tour; second, Jordan Cox broke his thumb on the eve of making his Test debut in Smith’s place, meaning that Pope was rushed into action as the stand-in wicketkeeper, because England had chosen not to select a specialist back-up to Cox.
All of which meant that Bethell stepped in to make his debut at No3 in New Zealand. He played superbly there, looking every inch the international batsman the selectors perceive him to be. Andy Flower and Mo Bobat at Royal Challengers Bangalore also have a keen eye for talent, and Bethell had been bought by them in the IPL mega auction. A calendar clash was in the offing.
That was when politics came into play: hoping not to incur the wrath of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the ECB determined that any contracted player would be allowed to stay for the entire length of the tournament, meaning that Pope returned to No3 for the Zimbabwe Test in Bethell’s absence. And here we are.
One of those nice problems to have, as decision-makers say without ever quite meaning it. Pope now has the chance to nail down the position at first drop, knowing that Bethell is breathing down his neck. Bethell could bat anywhere in the order and is the next cab off the rank for someone and the meter is already ticking.
Pope at No3 was the first big call that Brendon McCullum made when appointed England head coach in early 2022, and it has been a qualified success. Pope has averaged 43.06 there with seven hundreds — impressive numbers, for sure, but they are bolstered by dipping in against Ireland (205) and Zimbabwe. You can’t blame him for that, but against India (average 24) and Australia (average 15) his career numbers fall short of the mark. He now has the opportunity to change that narrative this summer.
The rest of the team is as imagined, with Chris Woakes returning, after his appearances for the Lions against India A. He brings experience, steadiness and some batting depth, although he has often taken some time to hit top gear after a long lay-off. Headingley also requires bowlers who can pitch the ball up and “kiss” the surface and so one of Sam Cook or Woakes was required to partner the more “into the pitch” Josh Tongue and Brydon Carse. After Cook’s underwhelming performance against Zimbabwe, Woakes is the right call.
England XI to face India Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.
England v India
First Test, Headingley
Start 11am Friday. TV Sky Sports