Ollie Pope says England can make '500 or 600' in a day ahead of third Test against West Indies

"Bazball" has proved a divisive strategy since it was devised under Ben Stokes' England captaincy, but after two victories against the West Indies this summer, vice-captain Ollie Pope was in bullish mood ahead of the third Test against their opponents. He said that England's commitment to aggressive cricket was such that it would be possible for them to score 600 runs in a single day.

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Ollie Pope believes that England could score “600 at some point” in a single day’s play as they prepare for their third test against West Indies.

England are currently 2-0 up in the three-match series after they made it back-to-back victory at Trent Bridge last week, winning by a 241-run margin.

Ahead of the team this summer is their second series against India, which will likely prove to be a sterner test, but in Nottingham they scored more than 400 runs in both innings for the first time in their history.

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The third Test begins on Friday at Edgbaston in Birmingham.

Pope, England’s vice-captain, was in bullish mood as they look to secure a whitewash victory.

"There’s a real hunger - there always is a hunger - but now there's an extra bit in that batting line-up," Pope said.

"We want to be as ruthless as we can as a batting unit, but still play the way we do because that's our natural game. Obviously, being ruthless is being part of Test cricket as well."

Pope hit a century in the previous match, and while he admitted that the aggressive style of 'Bazball' brings critics and its own problems, he thinks the approach has total buy-in from the squad.

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Pope was one of three England centurions in the second Test alongside Joe Root and Harry Brook.

"I got asked on day one 'do you get told to play like that?'. No, we don't. It's just our natural games and the way we go about it," he continued.

"Sometimes we might score 280-300 in a day, but that's OK and probably because we're reading situations.

"There might also be a day where we go and get 500 to 600 at some point in the future as well. And that's a cool thing to have."

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