‘Learn a little bit, and show off exactly what he can do’ - Ollie Pope hypes Josh Hull ahead of England debut

Pacer Josh Hull is all set to make his debut in England’s third Test against Sri Lanka at Oval. The 20-year-old replaced Mark Wood in the squad, who is ruled out with a thigh injury. He has played 10 first class games so far and has picked up 16 wickets at an average of 62.75. Meanwhile, Hull will replace Matthew Pott in the third Test, who picked up only two wickets in the second Test at Lord’s.

Ahead of Hull’s debut, stand-in captain Ollie Pope was full of praise for the young pacer. He joked about a ‘massive ceiling’ referring to Hull’s 6'7’’ height and noted that it will be an exciting week for him in London. He mentioned that there are a lot of things to like about the left-arm seamer and expects him to do well when the nerves settle.

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“He has obviously got a massive ceiling, and he is pretty massive himself as well, which is pretty handy as a bowler. When you are 6ft 7in, you can get it down pushing up to the 90mph mark. And with the left-arm swing, there is a lot to like about it,” Pope said at the pre-match press conference as quoted by India Today.

“I think it is a real exciting week for him. The last match of the series. We are 2-0 up, but he is obviously going to still have those nerves coming in. We know what he can do moving forward. It is a great week for him to come in, learn a little bit, and show off exactly what he can do,” he added.

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England are leading 2-0 in the series and will be optimistic of a clean sweep in Oval. However, there are certain areas that the team would hope to improve. Pope’s own form is a massive concern. Former cricketer Michael Vaughan pointed that out and the captain himself addressed the same earlier in the week stating that he expects to get better in Oval, which is his home ground.