Ollie Pope walked off on Friday evening unbeaten on 100, bat raised and eyes misty. Ben Duckett, the man who shared a 122-run stand with him, admitted he felt “goosebumps” watching it all unfold. For Pope, this was less about flair than about showing he still owns England’s No.3 spot – even after a spring spent hearing whispers about Jacob Bethell.
England had, internally at least, settled the question days ago. Duckett said the dressing room never seriously doubted the order. “There’s noise outside of a dressing room, but there’s no noise in it,” he explained. “We’re not having discussions in the dressing room about who’s going to play. It seemed pretty clear coming into this Test match [that] if a bloke scores 170 a few weeks ago, he is going to play this game.”
That 170, made against Zimbabwe, ought to have ended the chat. It didn’t, partly because Ben Stokes – perhaps unintentionally – suggested Bethell might return once the IPL ended. Stokes later clarified the comments and, on match-eve, insisted it would have been “remarkable” to omit Pope and praised “how well he’s handled that extra scrutiny”.
Even so, Pope’s fierce celebration – a roar, a punch of the air – hinted at pent-up tension. Duckett attributes the release to both Pope’s character and the team culture. “If someone needs you to get around him, we’ll do that; if someone needs to be left alone, we’ll do the same,” Duckett said. “What’s been going on through Popey’s head for the last few weeks, I don’t know. But to be told two or three days out that you’re playing is probably a good thing… The way Popey’s dealt with it has been superb and just sums up and proves why he’s England’s No. 3.”
Duckett’s own 62 ended when he dragged an inside edge on to the stumps off Jasprit Bumrah, a bowler he rates above all others right now. “He is the best bowler in the world,” Duckett said. “He’s extremely hard to face. He’s good in any conditions; he’s good in India on the flattest pitches ever and when he’s coming in down the hill [at Headingley] with the lights on and it’s swinging both ways.” Acknowledging the threat, he added, “I feel like we minimised the damage early on. It could have been a lot worse today… He is just a world-class bowler, and you can’t let someone like him just bowl; he’s too good for that. You’ve got to still try and put him under pressure, and try to put the bad balls away.”
For India, Bumrah’s evening spell was a reminder of why he tops most pace charts. Yet England close the second day in a position they would have taken at the toss: Pope set, middle order fresh, pitch easing.
Plenty remains. Bethell sits on the balcony, still only a debut series behind him, waiting for another chance. For now, Pope’s answer to the debate is etched on the scoreboard. The next few mornings will show whether it turns into a match-winning statement or merely the start of another Headingley classic.
