On August 21, Ollie Pope strode out to toss for the first time as England Test captain, against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford. The next morning, the Adelaide Strikers announced that they had signed a deal with Pope for the 2024/25 edition of the BBL.
This is the first franchise T20 league contract for Pope. He did play for the Gulf Giants in the 2023 edition of the ILT20, but the tournament did not get T20 status. There, he batted twice, and made 18 and 0.
There's a new Pope in town!
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) August 21, 2024
English international @OPope32 has joined the @StrikersBBL for #BBL14. pic.twitter.com/Ns2Le4Gqes
In England, Pope plays for Surrey in the T20 Blast. In The Hundred, he turned up for the Welsh Fire in 2022 and the London Spirit in 2024. In all T20 cricket (including The Hundred and two games for the England Lions), Pope has amassed 1,295 runs at a strike rate of 133. He does not have a hundred, though he came agonisingly close against Sussex this June when he finished on a 59-ball 99 not out as Surrey finished on 177-7.
Read: Full list of players retained or signed for BBL and WBBL 2024/25
The vice-captain of the England Test side for some time, Pope stepped in as captain in his 48th Test match when Ben Stokes opted out with an injury. However, he is yet to break into any of England’s limited-overs sides.
Pope joins the likes of Sam Billings, Chris Jordan and Tom Curran as the English players in the men's Big Bash League for the upcoming season.
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