England batter Ollie Pope has opened up about his chances of returning to the playing XI after being dropped for the last two Tests of the Ashes 2025–26. He admitted that the decision was fair, even though it was a tough moment for him.
Pope struggled throughout the five-match series, scoring only 125 runs in six innings. After a string of low scores, he was dropped. The former vice-captain was later replaced by Jacob Bethell, who impressed everyone with strong performances across formats, making Pope’s comeback more challenging.
During Surrey County Cricket Club’s pre-season media day, Pope reflected on the decision and said, “I guess I knew where I stood. Getting dropped is tough. I didn’t want to get dropped, of course, but it was the right decision at the time.”
Despite the setbacks, Pope is focused on improving his game. The right-handed batter also spoke about his communication with the team management and said, “For me, the chats were just, ‘go back, score loads of runs. If I’m not in that XI, can I make sure I’m the best batter in the country? I can take my game to another level and make sure that, if something happens, I’m the man to come in.”
In 2025, Pope scored 602 runs from nine matches at an average of 37.62. He will start the County Championship for the first time since 2022. Reflecting on the county season, he said, “My summer — I’m not 100% sure what it looks like going forward. We’ve got a block of seven games for Surrey in the Championship, so I just want to make sure my game keeps improving and developing for if and when the England opportunities come around again.”
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