England cricket star, Ollie Pope, has credited Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale as his "lucky charm". This comes after the cricketer scored an impressive 121 on the first day of the second Test against West Indies.
Ramsdale, who was part of the England squad that reached the Euro 2024 final, was a special guest invited by Gunners fan Pope at Trent Bridge. This isn't their first encounter in a cricket match; Ramsdale also witnessed Pope score a double century against Ireland at Lord’s last year.
Ramsdale played cricket with Pope
Pope’s sixth Test century, which he compiled against different teams, played a significant role in leading England to an all-out score of 416 on an action-packed opening day in Nottingham. Interestingly enough, before focusing solely on football, Ramsdale played junior club cricket in Staffordshire.
English cricketer, Ollie Pope, said:
“He messaged me last night and I managed to sort him a couple of tickets,” said Pope. “He can come more often. I'm obviously a big Arsenal fan so I go to support him a fair bit,”
“He seems to be my lucky charm on the cricket pitch as well.”
Transformation under Trescothick
Earlier this year, Pope delivered one of the all-time great innings by scoring 196 to help England defeat India in Hyderabad. Despite passing only once over 30 runs during four subsequent Tests on tour, his performance remained noteworthy.
His highest score for Surrey this season is just 63 runs; however, he kicked off his English summer with a promising score of 57 during their victory over Windies in the first Test at Lord’s last week. After following up with his century in the second Test against West Indies recently, he attributed much credit to training sessions conducted with England batting coach Marcus Trescothick when he sat out Surrey’s Championship match against Essex earlier this July.
Ollie Pope made his debut into test cricket as a young player aged just twenty back in 2018 when he faced India. Fast forward six years, he now holds the position of England's vice-captain and is one of the most senior players in the team with 45 caps to his name. This comes after James Anderson and Stuart Broad retired, and Jonny Bairstow was dropped.
Since being promoted to number three in 2022, Pope has made five centuries - more than any other England batter in that position since Jonathan Trott. However, across his career, his Test batting average stands at a respectable 35.52. Ollie Pope's recent performances have been impressive and it seems that having Aaron Ramsdale as a spectator might just be his lucky charm! Whether you're a sports fan or into sports betting, these are exciting times for English cricket.
