Former England captain Andrew Strauss backs Ollie Pope for the Ashes No. 3 spot over young prospect Jacob Bethell, calling it a ‘huge ask’ for Bethell to debut in such a high-pressure series despite Pope’s previous struggles in Australia.
‘A huge ask’ for Bethell
“I think you’ve got to go with Pope, personally. It’s just such a massive ask for Bethell to come into bat in foreign conditions. He’s a lovely looking player, there’s no doubt about it, but he just doesn’t have that record yet,” Strauss, the last victorious touring England captain to Australia, in 2010/11, said on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.”He will be walking out to bat in the middle of this cauldron of an Ashes series, and will, deep down, not be fully confident in his ability to do it. I just think it’s a huge ask for him. Pope has shown vulnerabilities, especially on the last tour of Australia, but I think you’ve got to give him the first shot at it,” he added.
The Stokes-McCullum factor
However, Strauss didn’t rule out the possibility of Bethell emerging as the frontrunner, considering England head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes prefer to take risks.”If he doesn’t perform in the first couple of Tests, maybe you can bring Bethell in then? But that’s sort of the old school England approach, and [captain Ben] Stokes and [head coach Brendon] McCullum like to take risks,” Strauss said. “If they think Bethell is the better option, the more exciting option, they might push that ‘gamble’ button again. But I certainly wouldn’t,” Strauss concluded. (ANI)(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)