Ollie Pope has denied the England team ‘weren’t fussed’ during the troubled Ashes series but understands why the players were criticised.
Ben Stokes’ tourists crashed to a 4-1 series defeat by Australia that is currently being reviewed by the England and Wales Cricket Board, with tour planning, preparation, individual performances and behaviour all under scrutiny.
Apart from being comprehensively outplayed on the field, concerns about the culture of the squad emerged during a break in Noosa, where there were reports of excessive drinking by players, followed by revelations over vice-captain Harry Brook’s altercation with a nightclub bouncer on the pre-Ashes visit to New Zealand.
Pope, however, insists England’s were intent on beating Australia and might have been more successful had they built on a competitive start to the first Test in Perth.
The Surrey batsman was speaking after the ECB reversed plans to stop its Ashes players speaking to the media ahead of the new county season while it conducts its review.
“Going into that series, there was a lot spoken about the preparation of it. As a team, the misconception might be that we weren’t as fussed as it came across,” the 28-year-old said at Surrey’s pre-season media day.
“The tough thing for everyone in that first game was the nature of it. Had we won that, and we’d done slightly better on day two, the idea is different.
Ollie Pope averaged just 20.83 across six innings in the first three Tests of England’s 4-1 Ashes series defeat
“Of course we want to be a well-liked team, on and off the pitch, and unfortunately our performance didn’t allow that to happen in Australia.
“I can understand why people felt that way, but at the same time the perception that we weren’t fussed was probably the hard thing. All we wanted to do was go and win the Ashes.
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“As individuals, everyone’s trying to manage with the pressures of an Ashes series and trying to get the best out of their performance and doing what they can.
“All anyone wanted to do was to win. And for us at times it was just trying to, in our minds, take the pressure off the actual Test match.”
Among the criticisms made of England was inadequate preparation for an Ashes that consisted solely of a three-day match against England Lions at Lilac Hill in Perth before the first Test in the same city.
“As we’ve done over the previous years, we tried to treat it like a normal series to get the best out of ourselves. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite go to plan,” Pope said.
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“It wasn’t ideal batting at Lilac Hill because then we go and play in Perth and it’s the opposite kind of conditions. But that’s the cards you’re dealt.
“And we did have experiences over previous years where that kind of preparation has worked for us in places like New Zealand, Pakistan and India.
“I know what I need to be as ready as I can be. From a personal point, I felt as ready as I could have been for that first Test.”
Pope was dropped after the third Test in Adelaide after averaging only 20.83 runs across the first three games but will fight to regain his England place, declaring: “I still feel like my best batting years are to come.”
Surrey’s County Championship campaign begins against Warwickshire at Edgbaston from Friday, April 3.
