Ollie Pope smashes 169 off Zimbabwe to show England selectors his class
Ollie Pope hit England's third century of the day to push his claims to stay at No 3 for the rest of the summer.
Ollie Pope hit England's third century of the day to push his claims to stay at No 3 for the rest of the summer. Photograph: Paul Childs/Action Images/Reuters
There were shades of The Thick of It after Ben Stokes gave his press conference a day out from this one-off Test against Zimbabwe. When the minister – or in this instance the England captain – said Jacob Bethell would be straight back in for the series against India, this apparently referred to the squad and not necessarily the XI.
That Stokes sought to make this clarification through the back channels perhaps said more about the task at hand than England's true thoughts on the subject. No captain would ever wish to send a player out believing whatever they achieved would be irrelevant, not least a vice-captain and team-first character such as Ollie Pope.
Advertisement
Related: England v Zimbabwe: men's cricket Test, day one – live
Either way, Pope was scarcely destabilised by the prospect of Bethell returning from the Indian Premier League and reclaiming the No 3 berth he took on in New Zealand. Striding out with an already bumper 231 for one on the board, Pope peeled off a slick and unbeaten 168 from just 163 balls that represented his eighth Test century against eight different countries. Even factoring in a callow Zimbabwe attack that spent half the day a man down through injury, it can only have felt soothing.
Brought up with just over an hour remaining when he carved Sikander Raza for four, Pope had made the third century on a day of outright dominance for England that added up to 498 for three by stumps. First came Ben Duckett fizzing his way to his fifth hundred in Test cricket with 140 from 134 balls, then Zak Crawley matching that number with a more watchful 124 from 171, his first century since the 2023 Ashes.
This being a four-day Test match, the follow-on mark is just 150 runs and, along with the possibility of some rain over the weekend, could explain why Stokes opted against one of his funky day one declarations. Although the England captain may have simply been enjoying watching Pope make hay during the final hour, the right-hander bringing out the uppercut to glorious effect during a session worth 203 runs.
Advertisement
It could have been a pretty deflating day for the Zimbabwe supporters on Trentside but after a 22-year wait to watch their side play a Test match in England, none seemed overly vexed. There was also something for them to cheer late on when Joe Root, freshly past 13,000 Test runs and looking ominous, holed out for 34 when attempting to pull 6ft 8in Blessing Muzarabani over the long leg rope.
Craig Ervine, their captain, electing to bowl under grey skies in the morning was also not as calamitous as the scoreboard suggested, with Stokes minded to do the same. It was simply too chilly for swing during the early exchanges, the surface too beige and the outfield too quick for England's top order not to loosen their belts and tuck in.
By lunch England had raced to 130 for no loss from 26 overs. Muzarabani, heading in the opposite direction to Bethell after this Test match, showed glimpses of his talent, the odd ball testing Crawley and a return catch when the opener was on 10 proving just out of reach. At the other end Richard Ngarava offered a left-arm angle but, like his strike partner, not enough consistency to build any sustained pressure.
The most threatening seamer was probably Victor Nyauchi, a bustling medium-pacer who mixed up his angles well and flirted with Duckett's outside edge after the first interval. But on a day when Zimbabwe needed plenty to go their way, this briefly testing passage witnessed the precise opposite: Ngarava, running to stop a ball in the deep, suffered a nasty back spasm and soon left the field on a motorised stretcher.
Advertisement
The 231 runs that Duckett and Crawley compiled was England's highest partnership against Zimbabwe, as well as the third highest opening stand by an English pair on home soil. It may not have been their most taxing but, coming at the start of a defining nine months for this England team, it still offered a reminder of the chemistry that this little-and-large duo have struck up since they were first paired in late 2022.
For Crawley it also changed the narrative surrounding his early summer form; form summed by the fact that, when he rocked back and pulled Muzarabani for four early on to reach eight not out, he had already made his highest first-innings score of the season. Thereafter it was a pretty knock, laced with cover drives and only ended when he missed a tired sweep to Sikandar Raza's off-spin and was lbw.
There were no such concerns regarding Duckett and on his home ground – a ground with dimensions practically designed for his punchy game – he purred his way to a run-a-ball century. In the end, his downfall was self-inflicted, greeting the part-time spin of Wessly Madhevere with a four and six before slapping one straight to extra cover.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
The Transfer Lesson Newcastle United Must Learn From Manchester City
This is arguably the most important transfer window since Newcastle United's first under the majority ownership of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment' Fund. Back then, in January 2022, it was all about building a squad capable of avoiding Premier League relegation. Now, the aim is giving Eddie Howe's team the tools to thrive in not only the domestic games, but the Champions League too. For added context, Newcastle has been unable to sign a major first team upgrade in the last three windows due to Profit and Sustainability Rules restrictions. The squad has quality, but is extremely thin and in no way fit for what is to come. But having obeyed the rules and been through that difficult spell, there is belief the club can spend on a big enough scale this summer. On Thursday, the arrival of highly-rated Spanish teenager Antonio Cordero was confirmed on a free transfer from Malaga. It is expected he will go out on loan in order to be ready for a first team impact in a year or so. But the pressure move quickly is huge; days into the pre-Club World Cup mini window, which closes on June 10 before reopening properly six days later, and certain aspects of the fanbase is getting frustrated at the lack of news. It is understandable given what has gone before, and Howe himself is on record imploring the club to act quickly, but signing the right players for the right price takes time. Few clubs can match Newcastle for its success rate with player arrivals, and that comes from being calm and patient. Crucially, it means not panicking when targets go elsewhere. Talks with Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen and Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo have resulted in both opting for Real Madrid and Manchester United respectively. Matheus Cunha, the Wolves forward, was also of interest, but the Red Devils acted quickly to sign him as well, triggering his £62.5m ($88.4m) release clause. Chelsea won the race for Ipswich striker Liam Delap, and Liverpool is set to complete its second signing from Bayer Leverkusen; after Jeremie Frimpong, playmaker Florian Wirtz will be the coup of the summer. All of the players Newcastle has spoken to have been Premier League based. Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi, who was subject of bids up to £65m ($88m) last summer, is still a player the club is considering, as is Brighton forward Joao Pedro. The Brazilian, 23, almost moved to St James' Park three years ago for £30m ($40m), but Alexander Isak arrived instead and he headed to the AMEX Stadium. If Brighton is to sell him, it will want double the fee the original fee. Domestic targets are harder to secure; clubs don't want to sell to direct rivals and the money in the Premier League is so vast that they rarely have to. Mbeumo is fully expected to join Cunha at Old Trafford for a similar fee, with some reports suggesting his wage demands are as high as £250,000 ($340,000) per-week. Newcastle has a soft salary cap in place at St James' Park; top earner is currently captain Bruno Guimaraes on £150,000 ($2o3,000) per-week. The club is open to breaking that structure, but most likely to reward Isak with a new contract. Newcastle has a history of successful deals from other markets in Europe. Isak, Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Sven Botman have all thrived, and only the Swedish striker, whose value has since more than doubled, cost anything like the figures being quoted for more localized players. Those deals are easier to do quietly too; Newcastle is a club which prefers to act away from the headlines, and it would not be a surprise to see it go down this route again. Other leagues offer greater value. There is evidence of that already this summer. Manchester City, who like Chelsea is set to compete in the Club World Cup, has agreed to sign Dutchman Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan for £46.5m ($63m). The 26-year-old was voted the best midfielder in Serie A despite his club enduring a season where they sacked two coaches; he is approaching his peak years and this transfer would be the most expensive in his career. Yet for all that recognition and experience, playing regularly in the Champions League, he costs less than any of the players leaving mid-table Premier League clubs. Botman won the French league with Lille, Tonali won Serie A with Milan and Isak lifted the Copa del Rey in Spain with Real Sociedad. That trio cost a combined £150m ($203m). Cunha, Huijsen and Mbeumo, all excellent talents but who played for clubs finishing ninth or below in England, will cost £160m ($217m). This summer is about signing players to help Newcastle compete at the very top. The Premier League has quality players running through it, but clubs are under no pressure to sell cheaply; elsewhere in Europe, that isn't the case. Elite players can be signed for smaller fees; the sooner Newcastle realizes that, the sooner it will see its sizable transfer spend go much further.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Can Tijjani Reijnders' arrival boost Manchester City's 2025/26 title odds?
For more stories like this, click here to follow The Athletic's sports betting section and have them added to your feed. It's been nine years since Manchester City last found themselves as an afterthought in a league title race. The 2024-25 season was a long, trophy-less season for Pep Guardiola's men. Nothing seemed to go right as injuries, ageing players and sudden drops in form combined to leave the Citizen's 13 points off Liverpool's title-winning tally of 84. Advertisement As long as Guardiola is at the helm, a double-digit gap between his team and pole position will be unacceptable. City started to bridge that gap in January, using the winter window to primarily focus on fixing a leaky defence. It seemed to work as the Citizens allowed the second-fewest expected goals (xG) in the Premier League since the start of 2025, only bested by a defensively solid Arsenal. However, the players targeted by City so far during this summer window are more impactful on the other end of the pitch. AC Milan's Tijjani Reijnders has just completed his move to Manchester, while Wolves' attacking left-back Rayan Aït-Nouri and Lyon's midfield maestro Rayan Cherki are poised to follow him. The bookmakers still believe there is much more needed from City to improve their chances of usurping Liverpool as champions of England. Even with the addition of Reijnders, Guardiola's side remain firmly behind Arsenal (5/2) and the Reds (21/10) with odds of just 13/5. So, do the bookmakers know something we don't? Or is City's ongoing overhaul about to provide considerable value? You have to hand it to Guardiola. He watched in horror as his once impenetrable defence got ripped to shreds in the early part of the season, only to sign a 'not-defender' a few months later. That isn't a malfunctioning chart; the Dutch midfielder just isn't all that interested in defending. If you want a deeper dive into what exactly Reijnders does bring to the table, our own Sam Lee has already written a comprehensive tactical breakdown. What we'll focus on here isn't the what of Reijnders but the why. As in, why does Guardiola want to sign not one, but potentially two all-out attacking midfielders — Cherki's radar looks almost identical — after watching his defence struggle to cobble itself back together? Advertisement The answer is simple: City have always won due to their devastating attacking prowess. Last year was the first time in six seasons that the Citizens didn't lead the league in xG. During the 2023-24 season, Liverpool's xG tally topped City by over seven goals (87.8-80.5). This year, that gap nearly doubled as City created only 68.1 xG to Liverpool's 82.2. For a club that once created nearly 23 more expected goals than the next closest side in the 2019-20 season, this decline has caught Guardiola's attention. The need for reinforcements who can turn things around is apparent, and Reijnders' numbers speak for themselves. The irony is that despite all the focus on the new signings, the most intriguing reason to lay money on City's 13/5 title odds is a player who joined the team last summer: Sávio. Michael Imburgio's DAVIES model attempts to capture one of the most difficult aspects of football: measuring the impact of every touch a player takes on his team's ability to score a goal. When analysing the DAVIES rankings of the most impactful players in the league last season, you get a relatively unsurprising list. Liverpool's Mohamed Salah ranks first, followed by Chelsea's Cole Palmer, Newcastle's Alexander Isak and City's Erling Haaland. The fact that Haaland leads City in the DAVIES score isn't very shocking. What does raise an eyebrow is who sits third in the table: Sávio. In nearly every category the model measures — box activity, shooting, final ball dribbles and carries — the Brazilian winger made a significant contribution to the City attack last season. If the number a sophisticated model churns out is too ambiguous for you, there are other advanced metrics that show Sávio might be a future superstar. The 21-year-old is the third-best player in the team in passes into the penalty area per 90 minutes, behind only Kevin De Bruyne and Jérémy Doku. Sávio was also second on the team in carries into the penalty area and touches inside the box, once again trailing Doku. Advertisement So, if Doku is leading all these categories, why the excitement for the Brazilian and not the Belgian? It's because Doku often uses mesmeric dribbling to get into dangerous areas only to misplay the final ball. It's why Sávio not only has a much higher DAVIES score — 3.32 to Doku's 1.33 — but also ranked second on the team in shot-creating actions, trailing only De Bruyne. Interestingly, one of the main reasons the 21-year-old likely didn't see more of the action: he couldn't score. While Reijnders scored 15 goals off just 9.9 xG, Sávio only managed a paltry two goals off 6.5 xG last season. Reijnders' additional impact in the final third certainly will add value to City's title odds as well as the contributions of Cherki and Aït-Nouri if they end up in Manchester. But the new faces aren't the reason to be optimistic about the Citizens. It's a familiar face that could supercharge their upcoming season. Betting/odds links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo of Tijjani Reijnders: Giuseppe Meazza / Getty Images)
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Ex-Arsenal player Jay Emmanuel-Thomas sentenced to four years for involvement in drug smuggling plot
The former Arsenal player Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has been sentenced to four years in prison for his involvement in an attempt to smuggle 60 kilograms of cannabis into the United Kingdom. The 34-year-old will serve one year and seven months, having already served nine months on remand, before being released on license. The maximum sentence for cannabis importation in the UK is 14 years in prison. Advertisement At Thursday's sentencing at Chelmsford Crown Court, Emmanuel-Thomas sat behind a glass-panelled dock in a grey suit jacket, flanked by two security officials. Prosecutor David Josse KC told the court that Emmanuel-Thomas was expecting a payment of £5,000 ($6,800) for his part in getting the cannabis into the country. 'It is clear this was about money despite you being in a position where you had the privilege of playing football as a living,' the judge, Alexander Mills, told Emmanuel-Thomas. 'It is through your own actions that you will no longer be known for being a professional footballer. You will be known as a criminal, a professional footballer who threw it all away, and put others at risk of imprisonment, in pursuit of money.' Appearing via videolink from HMP Chelmsford on May 21, Emmanuel-Thomas pleaded guilty to the charge of fraudulent evasion of the prohibition on the importation of cannabis, between July 1 2024 and September 2, 2024, at Chelmsford Crown Court. The former England youth international had been detained by the National Crime Agency (NCA) in September 2024 after the cannabis was detected in suitcases which had arrived on a flight from Bangkok, Thailand to London's Stansted Airport on September 2. The suitcases belonged to Rosie Rowland, 29, and Yasmin Piotrowska, 33, the latter being Emmanuel-Thomas' partner. Having been arrested at Stansted, charges against the women, who denied their involvement at an earlier hearing, were dropped by the prosecution. In May, Josse told the court that the investigation into their involvement was discontinued after analysis of Emmanuel-Thomas's mobile phone. 'They thought they were importing gold, not cannabis,' Josse said. Emmanuel-Thomas initially denied his involvement in importing class B drugs at a hearing at Carlisle Magistrates' Court in September but changed his plea to guilty at Chelmsford Crown Court in May. Advertisement He had been playing at Scottish Championship club Greenock Morton, who terminated his contract after he was charged. After making one Premier League appearance for Arsenal, Emmanuel-Thomas left the north London side in 2011. He then played for clubs including Ipswich Town, Bristol City and Queens Park Rangers, as well as teams in India and Thailand, before joining Morton in July 2024. (Top photo of Jay Emmanuel-Thomas playing for Aberdeen:)
