Pope eager to take on the world's best

HAVING firmed up his England place with a century against Zimbabwe, Ollie Pope is eager to prove he can succeed against the best attacks in the world.

- By RORY DOLLARD

Pope hit a commanding 171 as England thrashed their unfancied opponents in less than three days at Trent Bridge, going a long way to quashing speculation that the selectors were preparing to hand his number three shirt to Jacob Bethell.

With Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett also hitting swift centuries, England were able to declare at an imposing 565 for six early on day two. Zimbabwe fought hard, but went down by an innings and 45 runs, Shoaib Bashir taking six wickets in the second innings as the match finished on Saturday.

Ben Stokes offered a firm vote of confidence in his vice-captain after the match, suggesting questions over Pope's role were not being asked inside the dressing room, but the man himself admits there is one he still needs to answer. Can he do it against England's two biggest rivals: India and Australia?