NEWS
Follow UsOllie Pope believes England can score 600 runs in a single day of Test cricket in the right circumstances for Ben Stokes' men.
Pope was one of three century-makers for the hosts as England won the second Test against the West Indies at Trent Bridge by 241 runs, with Harry Brook and Joe Root following him to three figures in a series-clinching success.
Victory in Nottingham also marked the first time England had reached 400 in both innings in the 147-year history of Test cricket.
Pope was one of four batsmen to score a hundred when England piled up 506-4 on the first day against Pakistan at Rawalpindi in December 2022, despite facing a mere 75 overs. The England vice-captain believes the team now has the capacity to surpass that feat and the ability to adapt to more bowler-friendly conditions as they refine their aggressive 'Bazball' approach.
"I got asked on Day 1...'Do you get told to play like that?' No, we don't. It's just our natural games and the way we go about it. Sometimes we might score 280-300 in a day but that's okay and probably because we're reading situations. There might also be a day where we go and get 500 to 600 at some point in the future as well. And that's a cool thing to have," said Pope.
"We put on just over 400 in the third innings of the game and had we not done that it might've been a closer affair in the end. We want to be as ruthless as we can as a batting unit, but still play the way we do because that's our natural game. But being ruthless is being part of Test cricket as well."
The 26-year-old Surrey star added: "I feel that everyone has kind of grown into their roles and now there's a real hunger. There always is a hunger, but now there's an extra bit in that batting line-up and now we feel like we can go on to do even better things. At the time it was about building confidence; now it's about hopefully we can keep becoming more and more ruthless."
England, who previously thrashed the West Indies by an innings and 114 runs at Lord's, have now won a Test series for the first time since 2022 as they lead 2-0 ahead of this week's finale at the Edgbaston ground in Birmingham.
England's progress was checked by drawn campaigns against New Zealand and Australia in 2023 and this year's 4-1 loss in India.
They have since undergone a significant revamp of the team, with England record wicket-taker James Anderson, 100-cap veteran Jonny Bairstow, wicketkeeper Ben Foakes and experienced spinner Jack Leach all making way for fresh talent.
The newcomers have all made impressive starts, with fast bowler Gus Atkinson taking 12 wickets at Lord's, off-spinner Shoaib Bashir grabbing a five-wicket haul at Trent Bridge and Jamie Smith shining as wicketkeeper-batsman.
"There was obviously a lot said after the India series... I think winning can become a habit and the way we've gone about these two games is high class and that's shown in the results so far.
Talking about his batting, Pope said: "I actually felt I played better in the second innings [at Trent Bridge]," Pope said. "I got dropped twice in the first innings, one I actually creamed anyway. I didn't feel quite at my best but I felt pretty good. And I felt pretty good at Lord's last week as well so I'm happy to make it count in this game. Got that bit of luck and was able to cash in."
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