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England head coach Brendon McCullum has thrown his weight behind Ollie Pope to score runs in the final Test of the ongoing five-match series against India. While McCullum admitted that Pope lacked runs in the previous game, he observed how active the vice-captain was on the field.
Pope started his series with a duck in Hyderabad but went on to make 196 in the second innings of that Test to help England win a thriller. However, the 26-year-old has passed the 30-run mark only once since then and registered a pair in Ranchi.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, McCullum said the right-hander is gutted about his poor show in Ranchi. However, the former New Zealand captain lauded Pope for being the team man, saying:
"He’s aware of what he needs to do. He obviously bagged them in the last Test and he’s gutted about that but look at the way he was then helping the skipper on the last day and diving around in the field.
"That’s the stuff you’re desperate for as a coach, to see people giving it their best regardless of their own performance. He displayed great leadership qualities and that showed where he’s at as a player, member of this team and as a person."
Ben Stokes' men did their absolute best to mount a defence of 191 in Ranchi. However, Dhruv Jurel and Shubman Gill took India home with five wickets to spare.
"Popey is trying to be as calm as he can be" - Brendon McCullum
The former gloveman admitted the frantic nature of any innings when it starts and backed Pope to find his rhythm soon. He added:
"Look at Kevin Pietersen and Ricky Ponting when they first went out to bat. They were frenetic at the start and everyone’s susceptible when they first go out there. It's just the way it is.
"But Popey is trying to be as calm as he can be when he goes out there and there’s a period when he needs to grab information from the wicket and get the rhythm of how the game is going."
The fifth Test of the series begins on March 7 in Dharamsala.
