Ollie Pope confident England’s motivation unshaken ahead of Pakistan tour

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England's Test stand-in captain, Ollie Pope, has expressed confidence that his team would have no issues finding motivation ahead of their three-Test series against Pakistan, even as the side faces a tight turnaround. 

Regular Test skipper Ben Stokes is close to regaining his fitness after suffering a hamstring injury while representing Northern Superchargers in The Hundred 2024, which led to his exclusion from the Sri Lanka series. 

Additionally, Mark Wood has been ruled out of the remaining 2024 series following medical scans that revealed a bone stress injury in his right elbow.

Despite these challenges, Pope seeks motivation in playing for England and emphasizes that the honor of representing his country is his ultimate drive.

"Obviously from a batting point of view it's different to the fast bowlers, but I think they'll have a couple weeks off just to refresh and get right for that," Pope said. 

"And I think pulling an England shirt on is the greatest honour, so I don't think there needs to be much more motivation," he added.

England’s winter commitments begins from the first week of October with their tour of Pakistan, followed by a series in New Zealand in November. The team will play six Test matches before Christmas, with a white-ball series against the West Indies in between. 

Managing player fitness will be crucial, especially following Mark Wood's year-long absence, compounded by the recent retirements of veteran seamers Stuart Broad and James Anderson, which has significantly impacted their pace combination.

In addition to managing injuries, England will need to carefully handle their multi-format players, such as Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Matt Potts, and Jamie Smith, who are also involved in the ODI squad.

Despite the challenges of a packed schedule, Pope remains optimistic about the team’s mindset. 

"We love touring as a team and everything's a new, exciting challenge. So I think from that point of view, that's fine. I know it's a short turnaround, but I think us as a team, we love every bit in an England shirt whenever we get the opportunity to pull it on. So that won't be an issue getting up for that. There'll be a lot of excitement come the time ago to Pakistan," he concluded.

England showcased a strong performance in their recent Test series against Sri Lanka, winning the first two matches convincingly. However, they missed the chance to secure a clean sweep as Sri Lanka bounced back to claim the final Test, resulting in a 2-1 series win for England. 

In contrast, Pakistan struggled in their two-match home Test series against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi, suffering a disappointing 2-0 whitewash. 

Looking ahead, Pakistan and England are set to clash in a crucial three-match Test series, part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25, from October 7 to 28 in Multan and Rawalpindi.