BATTLE TESTED

Fired-up Pope ready to silence doubters

- BY RORY DOLLARD

OLLIE POPE believes he is more prepared than ever for the hostility of an Ashes series after fighting hard for his England place for the past year.

The surprise emergence of Jacob Bethell on last winter's New Zealand tour turned up the heat on Pope and he has faced near constant scrutiny ever since.

Centuries against Zimbabwe and India in his first two innings of the summer looked to shore up his spot, but diminishing returns in the subsequent months and the decision to remove Pope as vice-captain in September kept the debate very much alive.