‘My best batting years are to come’ – Ollie Pope confident of red-ball turnaround after Ashes disappointment

England batter Ollie Pope has agreed that the team management was right to drop him midway during the recent 2025-26 Ashes series in Australia. The Three Lions once again failed to retain the urn after losing 4-1 Down Under, as the Steven Smith-led side eventually thumped Ben Stokes’ men quite comfortably at home.

After playing in the first three games of the series, Pope was dropped and eventually replaced by Jacob Bethell. The experienced batter had scored just 125 runs in the series at an average of 20.83. His replacement, Bethell, meanwhile, went on to score 205 from the last two Tests, including his maiden Test hundred in the fifth and final game at the Sydney Cricket Ground. 

Pope understands why he was replaced in favour of the young left-hander. Pope, however, who once served as the designated vice-captain of the Test team, is ready to fight for his place back in the side during the upcoming season of English summer.

“I knew where I stood. Getting dropped was tough, but it was the right decision at the time. The chats were just to go back and score a load of runs, then if I’m not in the England XI, make sure I’m the best batter in the country. If something happens, it’s about making sure I’m the man to come in. I’ve played a lot of Test cricket, 64 Tests, but I still feel like my best batting years are to come” Pope was quoted as saying on Cricbuzz.

The ace batter will now return to his county side, Surrey, ahead of the 2026 County Championship season commencing in April. The 28-year-old, however, is not the only batter who will be fighting for a place in the Test squad ahead of their three-match series against New Zealand on home soil.

Opening batter Zak Crawley also had an underwhelming Ashes series in Australia. The Kentman scored 273 runs from five Test matches at an average of just above 27. Crawley failed to live up to lofty expectations and the promise that he showed during the 2023 Ashes, where he ended up as England’s highest run-scorer.