England opt for Ollie Pope at No 3 over Jacob Bethell for first India Test

  • Vice-captain gets the nod after 171 against Zimbabwe

  • The 21-year-old rising star featured against West Indies

Ollie Pope has retained his England place and will face India in the first Test starting on Friday, the 171 he scored against Zimbabwe last month having proved enough to hold off the emerging challenge of Jacob Bethell.

Bethell’s success in Pope’s No 3 slot during the three-match series in New Zealand over the winter, when he scored a half-century in each Test and averaged 52, appeared to have made the position his to lose.

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Tendulkar v Anderson: two master craftsmen who gave more than anyone to Test cricket | Andy Bull

If the Pataudi Trophy had to be renamed then the rivalry between India and England’s two most-capped Test cricketers was worthy of the switch

Spring 2006 and India are batting against England at the Wankhede in Mumbai. The series is all square, one Test each with one to play. England, batting first, have made an even 400, thanks in large part to a century by Andrew Strauss and 88 from his Middlesex teammate Owais Shah, who is making his debut.

It is just past tea on the second day and India’s openers are already gone, bounced out by Matthew Hoggard. Sachin Tendulkar is at No 4 and England’s captain, Andrew Flintoff, has just thrown the ball to his first-change bowler, Jimmy Anderson.

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Pat Cummins admits ‘reset’ looms for Australia after crushing loss to South Africa

  • New WTC cycle could create opportunity for Australia to refresh ageing team

  • Cummins says ‘everyone gets thrown back into the conversation’ after loss at Lord’s

Australia’s captain Pat Cummins has acknowledged that a “reset” is coming for his team after another top-order capitulation opened the door for a South African upset for the ages.

Not having lost an ICC final since 2010, Australia were upstaged by Temba Bavuma’s fighting Proteas at Lord’s in a five-wicket defeat, crushing their hopes of defending the World Test Championship title they won in 2023.

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