England insist the Gabba holds “no fear” and are drawing confidence from the West Indies’ stunning eight-run victory in Brisbane almost two years ago. But scrutiny on the tourists has intensified after Pope was quizzed about media reports involving teammates Ben Stokes, Mark Wood and Jamie Smith riding electric lime bikes in the city without helmets.
In Queensland, riders can be fined up to $166 for failing to wear a helmet.
“Just put a helmet on next time, I guess,” Pope told reporters when asked about the incident. “Rules are rules, I guess. No other comment from me.
“If we did lose a game like we did, and everyone’s gutted, locking your doors and not coming out of your rooms is the unhealthy thing to do, as we saw in COVID times.
“If they [the media] want to catch us doing that, then so be it. It’s important to have that balance on a long tour.”
A more pressing issue is England’s batting, with Pope one of several players criticised for throwing his hands outside off stump on a lively Optus Stadium surface.
Their shot selection was savaged by English media and former Australian paceman Mitchell Johnson, who labelled their display “arrogant”.
Pope conceded England would need to be smarter against Australia’s quicks on a Gabba pitch with a green tinge that is expected to offer similar pace and bounce.
“I was pretty annoyed with both dismissals in that game, if I’m being honest,” said Pope, who was England’s leading run-scorer with scores of 46 and 33. “I knew that was the risk on that pitch.
“At the same time, I was happy with how I was playing right until the moment I got out. If I can start my innings like that as much as I can while I’m out here, hopefully some big runs will flow.
England batsman Ollie Pope during a training session in Brisbane ahead of the second Test. Credit: Getty Images
“It’s quite a bouncy pitch, probably the second bounciest after Perth. It’s just being real clear on how I want to go about it this week.
“They’re lessons to take forward, and it might be similar conditions here in terms of driving on the up. I don’t want to just let the bowler bowl at me, but it’s just trying to play the percentages as much as I can. Everyone is clear on their game plans and there’s a few lessons individuals will take from last week and put into practice this week.”
England were blown away by Travis Head’s match-winning century in the fourth innings in Perth and would dearly love one of their dynamic top-order players to replicate his destructive strokeplay. Australia haven’t announced whether Head will retain his place at the top of the order.
“So whether it’s one of our team putting their hand up and playing a knock like that, or on the other hand, it might be someone absorbing pressure for that extra amount of time to try and allow the next person to go and do that as well,” Pope said.
Travis Head raises his bat after his stunning knock in Perth.Credit: Getty Images
“There’s obviously different ways you can skin a cat if you want to be successful. It’s trying to make sure that you’re putting the bowler under some pressure, but at the same time, trying to absorb it as much as you can when a bowler is in a good rhythm.
“We know Australia have a good record here, but at the same time, I think we saw West Indies went and turned them over last time, so we kind of take that as a bit of a positive.”
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Asked if England expected Pat Cummins to play this Test, having missed the series opener due to a back issue, Pope replied: “He’s a world-class bowler but he’s someone we have faced as well. If he does play, then everyone knows how they want to go about and play him.
“I’ve faced him before. I know the challenges he poses, so I’ll try and combat that.”
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