Ollie Pope believes the idea that England wasn\u2019t focussed during its woeful Ashes tour of Australia was unfair on the squad but understands why the \u201cmisperception\u201d became lodged in the minds of many fans and pundits.<\/p>\n
Ben Stokes\u2019 side went down 4-1 to Australia over five Tests in 2025\/26, with the troubled campaign still the subject of an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) review.<\/p>\n
In addition to its poor on-field performance, concerns about the culture of the England squad emerged during a break in Noosa, an Australian resort, where there were reports of excessive drinking by players.<\/p>\n
This was followed by revelations that vice-captain Harry Brook had had an altercation with a nightclub bouncer on the pre-Ashes visit to New Zealand.<\/p>\n
Pope, however, insists England\u2019s was fully focussed on regaining the Ashes and might have been more successful had it cemented an encouraging start to the first Test in Perth.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing into that series, there was a lot spoken about the preparation of it,\u201d Pope told reporters on Tuesday. \u201cAs a team, the misconception might be that we weren\u2019t as fussed as it came across.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old, speaking at county side Surrey\u2019s media day, added: \u201cThe tough thing for everyone in that first game (Test) was the nature of it. Had we won that, and we\u2019d done slightly better on day two, the idea is different.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course we want to be a well-liked team, on and off the pitch, and unfortunately our performance didn\u2019t allow that to happen in Australia.<\/p>\n
\u2018Take the pressure off\u2019<\/h4>\n
\u201cI can understand why people felt that way, but at the same time the perception that we weren\u2019t fussed was probably the hard thing. All we wanted to do was go and win the Ashes…All anyone wanted to do was to win. And for us, at times, it was just trying to, in our minds, take the pressure off the actual Test match.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even before the trip started, questions were raised about a lack of preparation in Australian conditions, which consisted of a three-day match against the second-string England Lions at Lilac Hill in Perth.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we\u2019ve done over the previous years, we tried to treat it like a normal series to get the best out of ourselves,\u201d said Pope. \u201cUnfortunately, it didn\u2019t quite go to plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI know what I need to be as ready as I can be. From a personal point, I felt as ready as I could have been for that first Test.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pope was dropped after the third Test after averaging only 20.83 runs across the first three games, with replacement Jacob Bethell going on to score a century in the fifth Test at Sydney.<\/p>\n
But Pope insisted he was determined to regain his England place, saying: \u201cI still feel like my best batting years are to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Surrey batter was speaking after the ECB went back on a plan to stop its Ashes players speaking to the media ahead of the new county season while it conducts its review.<\/p>\n
Published on Mar 17, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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