Ollie Pope Released From England Squad Ahead Of The Lord's Test

Young England batsman Ollie Pope has been released from the squad for the second Test against India at Lord’s.

Pope will turn up for his County Surrey in a Royal London ODI fixture against Derbyshire later today.

A statement from England and Wales Cricket Board read:

“Batsman @Opope32 has been released from our Test squad for the second Test against India. Pope will play for @surreycricket in their Royal London Cup fixture against Derbyshire.”

Batsman @OPope32 has been released from our Test squad for the second Test against India.

Pope will play for @surreycricket in their Royal London Cup fixture against Derbyshire. pic.twitter.com/bpumxgEKSa

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 12, 2021

Ollie Pope did not feature in the first Test against India in Nottingham due to a thigh muscle injury.

Pope, like his fellow English batters barring skipper Joe Root, has endured a poor time in Test cricket this year.

He looked out of his depth against the likes of Ashwin and Axar Patel on raging turners during the winter and while he did get off to starts against New Zealand, he failed to convert them into a big score.

In 12 innings this year, Ollie Pope has managed 237 runs at an average of 21.54 with zero 50+ scores.

Meanwhile, England have dropped the duo of Zak Crawley and Dan Lawrence from their playing XI for the second Test at Lord’s.

While Haseeb Hameed has replaced Zak Crawley, Dan Lawrence has made way for spin-bowling all-rounder, Moeen Ali.

Mark Wood, on the other hand, has replaced injured Stuart Broad, who has been ruled out of the tour due to a calf injury he sustained during the pre-match warmups.

England have won the toss and have asked India to bat first. India have replaced injured Shardul Thakur with Ishant Sharma.

Also Read- India vs England 2021: Aakash Chopra Predicts Two Likely Performers To Watch Out For At Lord’s