It’s tempting to imagine that the height of Ollie Pope’s ambition right now is to retain his Test spot at No 3 – despite the looming presence of Jacob Bethell. 

But Pope himself has raised the bar as he embarks on the most crucial eight months of his Test career. Not only does he want to emulate the excellence of Joe Root, but he insists he would like another crack at leading England.

Neither scenario is out of the question, though the possibility of the second may be dependent on the success of the first. And while Pope, the vice-captain, is confident he will retain his place for the start of the five-match series against India at Headingley on Friday, he knows he needs to improve on a career average of 35 boosted by a double-century against Ireland and last month’s 171 against Zimbabwe. He has no doubt about the role model.

‘It’s just trying to make sure the mental side of my game is in as good a place as it can be, so I can really cash in. Hopefully this is the perfect time to do it, with a five-match series, when you can get on a good run.’

Pope’s self-analysis is backed up by the fact that, while his hundred against Zimbabwe was his eighth in Tests, all eight have come against different opponents. In other words, he has never scored more than a single century in any of the 21 series in which he has batted.

Ollie Pope’s place in the batting order has been one of England’s biggest selection headaches

That dilemma has grown only more pressing with the emergence of dynamic Jacob Bethell

Despite winning 56 Test caps he hasn’t shaken off the accusation that he is a twitchy starter

He keeps threatening to shine, only to lose his lustre. And it means his presence in the Test team is debated like no one else’s: even Zak Crawley, continually selected because of the management’s belief in his potential, seems more bulletproof.

At the age of 27, and with 3,301 runs and 56 Test caps to his name – four as captain last year while Ben Stokes recovered from a hamstring injury – Pope ought to be moving into the sweet spot of his career. 

And there has been plenty to enjoy, including an unbeaten 135 against South Africa at Port Elizabeth in 2019-20, an easily forgotten 145 against New Zealand at Trent Bridge to help kickstart the Bazball era in 2022, and a stunning 196 against India at Hyderabad in early 2024, when Indian coach Rahul Dravid salivated over his strokeplay.

But he has never shaken off the accusation that he is a twitchy starter, nor that he goes missing in the bigger series. Despite the Hyderabad heist, he averages just 24 against India, as well as 15 against Australia. And even those waters are muddied by a pre-Bazball average of 28 and a post-Bazball average of nearly 40 – perfectly respectable in an era when top orders throughout the world have struggled. 

So how does he assess his own career ahead of a big summer in which the men, women and mixed disability teams are all taking on India?

‘Very much in two halves,’ he said, looking relaxed in his purple training gear from a room whose panoramic view of London perhaps encouraged a sweeping perspective. 

‘Pre-Stokes and McCullum, when I was batting at five or six, I was trying to find my feet a bit. I know 25 is a lot of Tests to try and find your feet. But I remember getting dropped after the 2021-22 Ashes and thinking: “I hope that’s not it, because I feel like I’ve got a lot more to offer in an England shirt.” I feel like each year I’m gradually becoming a better player.’

Social-media chatter about Pope’s place has become so loud and regular that he never looks at X, and removes Instagram from his phone before the start of a series. 

His career average of 35 is boosted by a massive 171 against Zimbabwe earlier this year

Social-media chatter about his place has become so loud and regular that he never looks at X

Pope is also deputy to Ben Stokes on the field, standing in on four occasions as captain

Nothing good has come of doomscrolling: ‘I try and live in the four walls, and that’s something I’ve got better at over the last year – enjoy and trust the people around you. If someone’s saying a bad thing, that’s fine.’

Pope’s standing within those four walls grew during his four-match stint as stand-in captain, which brought a 2-1 win over Sri Lanka, then an astonishing victory at Multan in October, where England racked up 823 for seven at five and a half an over, and beat Pakistan by an innings.

In New Zealand two months later, he showed off his versatility, taking the gloves because Jamie Smith was on paternity leave and Jordan Cox picked up a last-minute injury, and scoring crucial runs at No 6 in the wins at Christchurch and Wellington. Stokes has not forgotten Pope’s willingness to put the team’s needs above his desire to nail down the No 3 position.

‘It’s not an individual game, though sometimes it’s portrayed as that,’ he said. ‘It’s about what the team needs first. And if I’m in a position where I can help in different roles, as well as my main role at No 3, that’s something I’m happy to do as well.’

Above all, though, the experience of the captaincy has given Pope a taste for more. ‘I really enjoyed it. And it’s 100 per cent something I’d love to do in the future. It was a massive honour. It was about getting that balance right between making sure my game’s in a good place and the team’s in a good place as well. I think I’d be a better captain for it going forward.’

His life will not be made any easier in the coming weeks by Jasprit Bumrah, the freakishly gifted Indian quick who fought a lone battle during his side’s 3-1 defeat in Australia over the winter. 

But he believes the tourists’ relative inexperience presents England, third in the Test rankings, with an opportunity to widen the gap on opponents who have dropped to fourth after successive series defeats by New Zealand and Australia.

‘Absolutely,’ he said. ‘Of course, they’re missing Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. But you know what Indian cricket is like, and the depth they’ve got – an endless amount of brilliant players. But if we play our best stuff, then hopefully we can come out on the right side of the result.’

Pope accepts that competition for his place from Bethell (pictured) is part of elite cricket

The only way Pope can really silence the chatter is by going big against India this summer

Brendon McCullum’s England face a massive year with the India series followed by the Ashes

First, he has to secure his place, and that means confronting the B-word – Bethell. Pope smiles, as if he knows the question was coming. ‘If you want to be an elite team, there’s got to be pressure on spots. That’s really important. For me, there’s so much spoken about it, so much said in the media. I know that what works best for me is if I’m just focusing on my stuff.’

But could he and Bethell play in the same side? Does it have to be an either/or?

‘Who knows?’ he said. ‘I don’t really have an answer for that, to be honest. That’s above my pay grade. Look, he’s a fantastic player coming through. But if I spend too much time worrying about that, then that’s me not taking my game forwards.’

There will be only one way to stop the chatter, and that is to go big against India – and not just once. The challenge will make or break him.