England left “perplexed” by circumstances surrounding Ollie Pope’s shoulder injury during The Ashes 2023
England Bewildered by Ollie Pope’s Shoulder Injury in Ashes Test
In a surprising turn of events, England find themselves “a bit bewildered” with the circumstances that led to batter Ollie Pope aggravating his shoulder injury during the second Ashes Test, according to spin bowling coach Jeetan Patel.
Pope initially sustained an injury while fielding in the first innings and unfortunately hurt himself again after diving during the second innings. The confusion arose when match officials mistakenly informed England that Pope had to continue fielding or risk going out with only 10 men on the field.
“We are a bit bewildered by it all,” expressed Patel as he reflected on the situation.
The second injury occurred as Australia batted in their second innings and Pope dived at mid-on. Following his first-innings injury, 25-year-old Pope had a substitute and was able to bat at number three for England due to it being classified as an ‘external injury’.
However, there seems to have been some ambiguity regarding whether another substitute could be allowed for subsequent injuries since it was argued that having had a player come out to bat already “reset” this allowance. As such, England were unable to replace Pope with a substitute during the second innings.
“It is a pretty tough situation when you nearly bust your shoulder and have been told it was an external [injury],” said Patel, highlighting both frustration and concern over how things unfolded. “Possibly there has been some change of heart from match officials; nevertheless, he [Pope] had no choice but go back out there.”
Despite the setback, Pope is expected to be able to bat in England’s second innings, but he is currently experiencing soreness. A decision regarding his fitness for the third Test at Headingley next Thursday will be made after the match concludes.
The third day of play ended prematurely due to rain with Australia leading by 221 runs at 130-2.