Ollie Pope. Pic Credits: X

NZ vs ENG: “Ollie Pope Has Been Brilliant In The Recent Times”- James Anderson Backs The Vice Captain To Come Good Against New Zealand

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England cricket team would be hoping for a revival against New Zealand after their shocking performance in Pakistan Test series where they lost the series by 1-2 after winning the opening Test match. Ollie Pope has looked quite clueless on turning tracks and even in swinging conditions against West Indies & Sri Lanka in England’s recent home Test summer. Ollie Pope perhaps needs to take a leaf out of Joe Root’s technique and grind the bowlers before playing attacking brand of cricket.

England are almost out of ICC WTC 2023-25 cyle final race but they can spoil the party of New Zealand. The Black Caps need to win the Test series which is set to commence on 28th November. There are high chances that the pitches would be very grassy which would make life easier for Ben Stokes’ brigade but we should not forget that how Kiwis’ fast bowlers troubled Indian batters in the ongoing Test Series.

New Zealand’s Test tour will suit Ollie Pope better- James Anderson

England’s fast bowling coach James Anderson was having an interaction with Tailenders podcast. James Anderson pointed out that Ollie Pope has been an integral part of the Test side. Anderson clearly stated that Ollie Pope has faced trouble while facing spin at the start of the innings but was quite optimistic that he would succeed in New Zealand conditions.

“He’s someone that has been brilliant in recent times and I’m sure that he will come good. New Zealand [England’s next Test tour] will suit him better. I think it can be tough when you are starting against spin. It’s about going away and thinking about it and trying to improve so that you are prepared if you come up against those conditions again in future,” said James Anderson.

“I haven’t even thought about that. He had a pretty light series but I don’t know how far back you are talking that he’s not scored runs because he got 190 in the summer,” he added.

Massive Boost for New Zealand

According to New Zealand’s coaching staff and management, it is believed that the ex-skipper Kane Williamson will be available for the 3 Test match series against England. Despite Kane Williamson not being the part of leadership group, he can help the skipper Tom Latham in tricky situations and Kane has the knack of performing exceedingly well in New Zealand and can smash mammoth tons.

New Zealand, the inaugural ICC WTC 2019-21 cycle champions have the knack to surprise the opposition. The last two time these two teams clashed, we witnessed a humdinger of a Test series in 2023 in which the series was squared by 1-1 and was an epic thriller. New Zealand needs to carefully manage the workload of Tim Southee in a crucial Test series as a 3-0 victory would most probably take them to WTC final.

Also Read: PAK vs ENG : Nasser Hussain Points Out Ollie Pope’s Inconsistencies In Test Cricket Post A Crushing Defeat In 2nd Test Match


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