‘All we wanted to do was go and win the Ashes’: Ollie Pope hits out at England critics

  • Batter denies the team ‘weren’t fussed’ in Australia

  • 28-year-old believes his ‘best batting years are to come’

Ollie Pope has challenged the perception England “weren’t fussed” during their troubled Ashes tour but accepts why it formed.

Ben Stokes’ tourists crashed to a 4-1 series defeat by Australia that is being reviewed by the England and Wales Cricket Board, with tour planning, preparation, individual performances and behaviour all under scrutiny.

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‘Worst experience’: Liam Livingstone criticises Key and McCullum regime

  • ‘No one cares about you,’ says Lancashire all-rounder

  • The 32-year-old alleges England group is too cliquey

Liam Livingstone has given a scathing account of his handling by the current England regime, claiming “no one cares about you”. The Lancashire all-rounder has exactly 100 caps for his country across all three formats but has not featured in more than a year and seems resigned to things staying that way.

In an interview with Cricinfo, the 32-year-old was highly critical of interactions with the director of cricket, Rob Key, and described his time at the Champions Trophy last year as “the worst experience I’ve had playing cricket” and said he did not miss being part of the recent T20 World Cup.

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