The question of who walks out at first drop for England in the opening Ashes Test now looks settled. Two innings of 100 and 90 from Ollie Pope in the three-day run-out against the Lions at Lilac Hill have, for the moment at least, pushed Jacob Bethell out of the frame for Friday’s match at Optus Stadium.
Pope, selected for the senior side while Bethell turned out for the Lions, was the most assured batter on show. His footwork looked crisp, his scoring areas broad, and even though the game was played at a gentler clip than the one expected in Perth, the contrast between the pair was clear: Bethell managed 3 in the first dig before a livelier 70 second time round.
The warm-up follows months of chatter around the No.3 spot. Bethell ended the English summer in fine touch, taking apart South Africa in an ODI at Trent Bridge, and the youngster’s rise coincided with Pope losing the Test vice-captaincy to Harry Brook. “I respect the decision they’ve made,” Pope said at the time. “If they think that’s the right thing for the team going forward, and obviously Brooky captaining the one-day stuff and the T20 stuff as well, then that’s absolutely fine by me and I respect the decision they’ve made.”
Far from sulking, Pope has responded with runs. Since moving to No.3 he averages 41.60 from 57 innings and owns eight of his nine Test hundreds there, numbers that rarely get quoted when the debate resurfaces. He hopes this week has quietened things. “I hope so,” he said with a half-smile. “I’ve got so used to those conversations being had (about the No.3 position). I don’t go looking for them but it’s pretty hard to avoid sometimes. I’m so used to seeing it, I’ve just learned to focus on my game.
“I’m just trying to become a better player each time I step out and that’s all I can do. Fingers crossed to get the nod, but all the trust is in those guys and I respect the decision they make.”
Pope admits a couple of technical tweaks have been road-tested over the past fortnight—he kept them under wraps, understandably—but did concede Bethell’s push for a place sharpened his own mind. The pair’s professional paths have been intertwined since the 2024 tour of New Zealand, when Pope voluntarily slid down the order and took the gloves after Jordan Cox’s late injury. With Jamie Smith on paternity leave, it felt a team-first move; in hindsight, it opened the door for Bethell and fresh scrutiny.
That scrutiny has rarely eased. Last summer, heading into the India series, calls grew for Bethell to leapfrog him, only for Pope to peel off 106 at Headingley. He thinks living under that glare can be useful. “It’s been good for me that I’ve learnt that, under the most pressure, I’ve been able to deliver, especially in that Headingley Test. I know that I can le”
Several senior voices inside the squad have been keen to play down the issue. One assistant coach noted privately that the staff “never really considered moving Pope” unless form nosedived. A former Test opener, asked on local radio, put it more bluntly: “If you average over 40 at No.3, you bat at No.3.”
For Bethell, the week still brought positives. His second-innings 70 was brisk and confident, and he fielded sharply in the cordon. The 22-year-old’s time will come; England have seven Tests in eight weeks and rarely does a first-choice XI play all seven.
For now, though, Pope appears inked in. The real examination arrives on a hard, fast Optus surface, facing Australia’s new-ball pair with the series at 0-0. Yet he goes in on the back of meaningful time in the middle and, perhaps more importantly, with the noise around the position reduced to a murmur rather than a roar.
