Ollie Pope reverse sweeps critics and India spinners to give England hope of miracle in Hyderabad

Few have played reverse sweep as often, and with as much authority, as Ollie Pope did in front of 30,000 mesmerised fans in Hyderabad.

Some three-and-a-half years back, Ollie Pope had just finished making a stylish 91 – then his second-highest Test score – when he received a massive compliment from an unexpected source. Having watched the knock on telly, Sachin Tendulkar tweeted that Pope seemed to have ‘modeled his batting on Ian Bell’. “His stance and footwork looks exactly the same to me,” the Indian maestro had added

Bell, a celebrated England right-hander, signed off with more than 7,000 runs from 118 Tests at 42.69, a highest of 235 and 22 centuries, so for someone then playing only his tenth Test to be compared by a legend to an accomplished batter must have thrilled the young man no end.

Tendulkar was exposed to another side of Pope on Saturday, the middle day of England’s first Test against India in Hyderabad. The 26-year-old is acknowledged as a fidgety starter and has had his problems against R Ashwin in the past, but there were no signs of uncertainty or indecisiveness as he produced an absolute masterclass at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.