New Delhi: Under the right circumstances, Ben Stokes’ England have it in them to score 600 runs in a day of Test cricket, believes Ollie Pope.
Pope cracked a century in England’s 241-run win over the West Indies in the second Test at Trent Bridge that also ensured their first series victory since 2022.
England scored over 400 runs in both innings in Nottingham, the first time they achieved it in Test cricket’s history.
They had piled up 506-4 on the first day against Pakistan at Rawalpindi, in only 75 overs in December 2022, woth Pope being one of the four batters to hit a ton.
The England vice-captain said they have the ability to score even more if they fire together in more batting-friendly conditions than Trent Bridge.
“We saw at Trent Bridge, when the lights were on and it started swinging more that was the time just to manage the game a little bit and that’s something we want to keep getting better and better at,” the 26-year-old said.
“But there might be a day where we go and get 500 or 600 at some point in the future as well. That’s a cool thing to have.”
England had won the first Test against the West Indies by an innings and 114 runs at Lord’s and play their third and final game of the series at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
Pope said hey now have more ability to adapt to more bowler-friendly conditions despite batting with aggressive intent.
“I think when Baz (England coach Brendon McCullum) and Stokesy took over, we were a batting unit with, not a lack of experience, but a lack of confidence at the time,” Pope said.
“At the time it was about building confidence, now it’s about hopefully becoming more and more ruthless. Sometimes we might score 280-300 in a day but that’s OK and probably because we’re reading situations.”
England scored over 400 runs in both innings in Nottingham, the first time they achieved it in Test cricket’s history. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
