Ollie Pope to bat at No.3 against New Zealand, Rob Key confirms

GEORGE DOBELL: Key has also confirmed that Jonny Bairstow will bat at No.5, which effectively means Harry Brook is the squad's reserve batter

Rob Key has confirmed that Ollie Pope will bat at No.3 in the first Test of the LV= Insurance Test series against New Zealand.

While Pope has never batted at No.3 in first-class cricket, Key believes he is the best equipped player in the side – apart from Joe Root – to make a success of the role and believes the new management team of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum will help him "unlock" his undoubted talent.

Key also confirmed that Jonny Bairstow will bat at No.5, meaning the uncapped Harry Brook is in the squad as the reserve batter, and strongly tipped that Matt Potts would make his debut in a seam attack that also looks likely to include the returning James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

"We feel that Pope is the man [to bat at No. 3]," Key said. "The bet is, that with the talent that they have, this environment and these coaches – Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes – can get the best out of one of our most talented cricketers.

"Ollie Pope is one of those that, if we can unlock him, which I think they can, there's a seriously good Test cricketer there. Whether that's No.3 or No.5 or No.4, I think he could be a very, very good Test match batsman. I think he'll do a fine job.

“It's not a concern [batting him at No.3]. Someone like Jonathan Trott did it [moving up to No. 3 despite not having done the role regularly at county level] well. You actually had Ian Bell and Trott who were flipped for their county and ended up doing it that way. So, I have no real issue with it.

"I think Pope has a technique and temperament, but it’s down to us really to get the best out of him. We’ll give him the backing to go and do it, so we can finally see the potential that we all think he has.

"Jonny Bairstow will come in at No.5, all things being equal in terms of injuries and stuff like that. But the plan is for Jonny Bairstow to come in at No.5."

^{This is the first squad selected since Rob Key replaced Ashley Giles as the managing director for the England men's team (Clive Rose/Getty Images)}

A feature of the previous regime was the rest and rotation policy aimed at nursing players through a busy schedule. But Key strongly hinted England would simply "pick the best team we possibly can" with no thought to "prolonging their career… where they can't impact as much as possible".

"We're just going to try and pick the best team we possibly can to try and win the game," Key said. "I think we'll try and get the most out of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, the most out of them that we possibly can. I'd rather have them playing as much as possible if they're part of the best bowling attack.

"I'd rather have them in the side, trying to win games of cricket for England than sort of prolonging their careers for a long, long time where they can't impact as much as possible. I think we'll try and make the most of them while we've still got them. 

"I'm pretty excited by what Matt Potts offers. We see him as a point of difference.

"There's a lot of people who can run in and get the ball down there at various different paces. But it's the character really, and I'm excited by someone of that age. When these injuries were happening, and you start seeing someone like that emerge and you see the way he runs in, the way that it looks like if you're facing him, you're in a proper contest. They are the players I get really excited about.

"Out of the injury problems that we've got at the moment, some good will come out of that, and it may be him."

^{Matthew Mott has been appointed as England's white-ball coach on a busy day for the men's side (Mark Evans/Getty Images)}

Meanwhile Key admitted he would "have loved" to appoint two English coaches to the roles of Test and limited-overs coaching roles but, in the end went for the “best people” for the jobs.

"I'd love to have been able to appoint two English people in this role," he said. "There's no doubt about that, but it wasn't going to be the criteria. The first criteria for selection was get the best people you possibly can.

"There was a number of English coaches in the running. Paul Collingwood was in the running. He is an asset in our environment, whether that is red or white ball. Players are sometimes the most brutal judges and all of them speak very highly of Paul Collingwood. In fact, they speak more than highly of him.

"Richard Dawson was very, very good.  John Lewis and Paul Nixon, too. There were a lot of guys that were in the running who got close and had a lot of attributes."

Key also reiterated his intention to appoint a head selector, insisting it was not part of his remit to fulfil that role.

"That role is still a full time job," he said. "So it's something that I think I'll be across but it's not a role that I'll be able to do full time. The plan is to have a head selector.

"Who can do this? Well, because it's being across everything - all the scouting, all of those types of things - that's a big job for an MD to have to do as well.

"But what I won't do is rush to the wrong person just to fill a role. We will work out who the best person to do that job. I don't think the plan is for me to be doing it."

Related Topics

• Harry Brook and Matthew Potts named in Ben Stokes' first Test squad
• James Anderson and Stuart Broad return as England resist changes for first New Zealand Test