'I've learned to live with the noise', says Pope

Ollie Pope said he has "learned to live with the noise" around his place in the England side after his century in the one-off Test against Zimbabwe.

Pope would be one of the candidates to make way should England decide to recall Jacob Bethell for the series against India. Bethell is missing the Zimbabwe Test because he is at the Indian Premier League.

But the vice-captain scored a majestic 171, an eighth Test century with each one made against a different opponent.

Speaking before play on day two, Pope told Test Match Special: "There is always going to be pressure for places in the England side. It's a good place for us to be.

"There's always a lot of noise and I've learned to live with that. I try not to let it affect me, especially going into a Test match. I try to shut myself off from the outside noise."

Pope gave up his regular number three slot in order for Bethell to make his Test debut on the tour of New Zealand before Christmas.

With England in need of a wicketkeeper, Pope took the gloves and slid down to number six, allowing Bethell to bat at three. The 21-year-old responded with half-centuries in each of the three Tests.

Flexibility had been a characteristic of Pope's 2024. As well as being the wicketkeeper, Pope also stood-in as England's captain and opener at various points in the year.

Though his versatility is an asset, the 27-year-old's primary role is to score runs at number three. He averages 43 in that position since being given the job by captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum in 2022.

Still, he endured a mixed time last year with the bat. Although he made three hundreds, he ended 2024 with an average of 33.13, the lowest of any Test batter to have scored three tons in a calendar year.

On Wednesday, the day before the Zimbabwe Test, Stokes appeared to hint Bethell would come straight back into the team when he said: "Put two and two together, you probably know what's going to happen."

It was later clarified that Stokes was referring to Bethell's return to the squad, rather than the team.

Pope said he not seen those particular comments from Stokes but had already spoken to the captain on the subject.

"The way Jacob played in New Zealand, he played really nicely," added Pope.

"For me it's trying to buy into the team as much as I can, trying to score as many runs as I can and do my job as the vice-captain."

Opener Zak Crawley, another candidate to be replaced by Bethell, also made a century on the first day against Zimbabwe. A further option for England could be to alter the balance of their side, utilising Bethell's left-arm spin in place of frontline off-spinner Shoaib Bashir.