Ollie Pope reflects on England’s “brutal” 4-0 Ashes thrashing against Australia

Ollie Pope has described England’s tour of Australia as “brutal” and said it “didn’t go to plan from the moment we landed”

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Root accepts England need wholesale changes after Ashes defeat

England batter Ollie Pope has described the recent 4-0 defeat to Australia in the Ashes as “brutal”, but insisted he will learn from the experience.

Pope particularly struggled in Australia, making just 67 runs in three appearances at an average of 11.16.

He also came in for some stinging criticism from Ricky Ponting during the final Test, who accused him of “poor batting” after his dismissal in the first innings.

Pope is viewed as one of the most talented young players in English cricket but, at the age of 24, he has failed to deliver on that promise so far.

He has made a total of 23 Test appearances during his international career so far, but he has only made one hundred and averages just 28.66.

Reflecting on the Ashes, Pope admitted it “didn’t go to plan from the moment we landed” and everything “went downhill” after the first Test at the Gabba.

“It was a brutal trip,” he told Sky Sports. “It didn’t go to plan from the moment we landed really, there was a load of rain in Brisbane, we couldn’t really train outdoors and do our warm-up [matches], which was frustrating.

“You get yourself in a good mental place for the first game but, if we’re being honest, it went downhill from there.

“I think as a kid, it is everything you dream and in the back of your mind, you want it to go that way and lift the trophy, score a lot of runs. Obviously, for a lot of us, it didn’t go to plan.

“It was tough out there but you can use it in your career, especially from a personal point of view, only being 24, to show what you need to do to improve and be successful in every country at the top level.”