Ollie Pope admits Steve Smith loves to bat in England

England’s middle-order batter Ollie Pope has admitted that Steve Smith loves to bat in England as he averages over 60.

Pope stated that they must break Smith out of his bubble during the Ashes series and will look for ways to make the Australian run machine as uncomfortable at the crease as possible.

"He loves batting in England, over the years he averages over 60 here now. It's obvious he knows these conditions and he knows his game inside out, so there's a lot of respect for him," said Pope.

"But there's also a lot of talented bowlers in our changing room who have worked out ways we can challenge him. I can't say too much but there's probably slightly different plans this time.”

The Australian scored 774 runs in four Tests in 2019 Ashes in England and he will surely be looking forward to repeating the history.

"Steve Smith is a highly-skilled batter and scores a lot of runs, but I think for him we might be looking at even quirkier ways to challenge him, test him out,” he added.

"He's got his routines - his slightly longer routines - before he faces each ball and he won't be ready until he's done all those routines. What's made him successful is that stubbornness and that stubbornness for runs as well. That's exactly the bubble we've got to try and get him out of.”

Smith scored a brilliant 121 at the Oval in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) final against India, his 31st Test career century and seventh in English conditions that have served him well over the years. It took India 268 deliveries and more than five and a half hours to end the 34-year-old's knock.

The Ashes starts from June 16.

England Men's Ashes Test Squad:

Ben Stokes (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood.

Ashes schedule

First Test (Edgbaston) - Friday June 16 - Tuesday June 20
Second Test (Lord's) - Wednesday June 28 - Sunday July 2
Third Test (Clean Slate Headingley) - Thursday July 6 - Monday July 10
Fourth Test (Emirates Old Trafford) - Wednesday July 19 - Sunday July 23
Fifth Test (The Kia Oval) - Thursday July 27 - Monday July 31

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