‘I don’t see it as a problem’ - Rob Key on team’s selection dilemma between Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell

‌With the five-Test series against India starting at Headingley in Leeds on Friday, the England team management will have one key decision to make as they sit down to finalise their playing eleven. They are yet to freeze in on their number three batter with Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell in direct competition for the slot.

After his epic knock of 196 in the second innings of the first Test against India in 2024 which gave England a rare win in the sub-continent, Pope had a lean patch at number three with only four scores of 50-plus (two hundreds and two fifties) in 13 Test matches till the New Zealand tour late last year with the team management trying out young talent Jacob Bethell at one drop during that tour.

Meanwhile, Bethell had an excellent start to his Test career with three fifties in six innings against the Kiwis to aggregate 260 runs to be England’s second-highest run-scorer behind Harry Brook in the three-match duel. The 21-year-old has also been impressive in his stint with the national white ball team averaging more than 35 and 40, respectively, in both.

With Bethell missing the one-off Test against Zimbabwe since he was with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru during the Indian Premier League 2025, Pope returned to his favoured number three slot. He seized the opportunity with both hands to top-score for England with a mammoth 171 in their innings win.

That innings from Pope has put the management in a fix to freeze the number three spot and with the team expected to give wicketkeeper Jamie Smith a longer run, either Pope or Bethell will have to sit out of the playing eleven. But England men’s cricket team’s managing director Rob Key is not worried and mentions it as a good headache to have.

"I don't see it as a problem, really," Key told the Telegraph's cricket podcast. "You win either way, really. You've got two brilliant players that can do that role. Ollie Pope's been fantastic in that tough spot; he played brilliantly in New Zealand alright, he was in a different role, but we've got two brilliant options in those spots.

"A tough decision is when you've got no options, and you've got to just then try and find something from nowhere. That's when I'm sort of scratching my head. This one is: 'Which really good player are we going to pick?' It's a good position to be in."

"I don't think the careers of Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell are defined by what happens this week, or whether he came back to play the Zimbabwe Test. He may not have played that Test match," Key said. "Watching his development has been extraordinary, and him going out there and playing in the IPL, I think was brilliant for him. We'll get the return on that in the future."

With Mark Wood not being considered for the start of the India-England series with his ongoing recovery from surgery on his left knee, Key sounded optimistic about the return of the pacer during the latter leg of the five-match series.

"He potentially could be ready for the back end," he said. "You may see him by the end of the series, but certainly then when you fast-forward to the Ashes, he should be fine for that."