“I really feel fairly recent,” Pope stated in the course of the launch of Rado because the official timing companion of England cricket. “If I had scored one other three 70s or one thing within the sequence, I is likely to be feeling barely otherwise, however I nearly really feel pissed off. I really feel like I am in actually good nick without placing collectively these scores. So hopefully I can go and discover that rhythm of placing collectively huge scores at No. 3, except Stewie drops me!
“There is no query I simply wish to play. We have 12 Take a look at matches so I in all probability will not play each county recreation, however I would miss one in that first seven or eight video games. I am itching to get again to simply scoring runs and representing Surrey, without making myself knackered.
“This membership is a good place to play cricket and it is a great way of simply difficult myself going ahead. I will get to face the likes of Nathan Lyon in that first recreation as nicely. I would be good to attempt to maintain bettering my recreation towards him earlier than one other Ashes sequence away, probably. There are all the time small beneficial properties to be made. Particularly whereas I really feel as recent as I do.”
Pope’s availability is a bonus for Surrey as they start their bid for a hat-trick of County Championship titles, a feat final achieved by Yorkshire in 1968. However on a private degree, as one of many core of younger gamers – alongside the likes of Sam Curran, Tom Curran and Will Jacks – round whom the membership’s current success has been constructed, Pope admits he’s “gutted” by the information of Stewart’s impending departure, which was damaged to the squad final Thursday.
“I sadly missed the assembly when he introduced it to the boys, however I had a cellphone name with him straight after,” Pope stated. “I can’t imagine a membership the place you do not see Stewie in at 6am day by day, on the rowing machine, or on the treadmill, or doing a little weights. That is as a result of he loves the membership and loves being right here. And he is additionally ridiculous at his job as nicely.”
The pair’s private relationship is encapsulated in two pictures, taken 11 years aside – the primary from 2007 when, as an eight-year-old, Pope obtained Surrey’s Beneath-9 Participant of the 12 months award from Stewart at The Oval, after which at Lord’s in 2018, when the identical man introduced him along with his first Take a look at cap.
“Each participant within the membership, and each member of the teaching employees, looks like they’ve simply bought a lot to owe him,” Pope stated. “Whether or not he sees the expertise in you, or sees the nice particular person in you, he brings it out. So he’ll be a large, huge loss for the membership. It may be unhappy when he leaves however hopefully we are able to win a few trophies for him this yr to provide him an excellent send-off.”
Success could also be taken as learn at Surrey underneath Stewart, however Pope admitted that, as a participant within the youth set-up, he’d been acutely aware in his early years on the membership of the difficulties behind the scenes, significantly within the wake of the loss of life of Tom Maynard in June 2012, and the following inquest into the membership’s behavioural requirements.
“It was form of an unstated factor, and also you’d see it eke in every now and then,” Pope stated, recalling the interval by which Stewart was parachuted in as first-team coach following the sacking of Chris Adams at the beginning of the 2013 season. “You possibly can see why Stewie is how he’s, as a result of he clearly ran a reasonably tight ship at the beginning.
“There’s lots of freedom inside the gamers. However I believe lots of what the membership has achieved – and hopefully we are able to go on to realize lots of good issues within the subsequent few years – that largely will likely be due to what he is created right here and set the tone for.
“A few of what occurred up to now, there are clearly some unhappy tales that got here from it, and it clearly wanted a slight change. And that is what occurred. And Stewie was in all probability the primary chief with that.
Alec Stewart all the time is aware of when he meets a splendid expertise. First assembly Ollie Pope when he was 9 then Alec presenting Ollie his England cap aged 20 pic.twitter.com/oWzjZWABg0
— James (@Surreycricfan) April 19, 2020
“He makes you are feeling such as you’ve bought a private relationship, however he is additionally bought the job to provide you your contracts or launch you sadly, if that is a part of the job as nicely. I met him after I was seven or eight. I’ve bought an ideal image of him giving me my Surrey Beneath-9 participant of the yr award, which is one I will all the time have, and he introduced me with my England cap, which once more, the video and the pics of which can be critically particular.
“The best way he does his function, I’ve simply bought lots of respect for him. Hopefully he can keep across the membership as a lot as he can, as a result of it will not really feel the identical without him.”
Pope additionally paid tribute to Stewart’s brother, Neil, a long-standing batting coach in Surrey’s youth set-up, and one in all his key mentors inside the membership.
“He is one in all my favorite batting coaches. Him and a man in school known as Stuart Welch, who was superb as nicely. I labored very intently with Neil for 5 or 6 years throughout my academy days. He was the one who really gave me confidence in my recreation.
“After I was 14 I felt like I used to be bang common however he was the one who all the time stated ‘you are going to play for Surrey; you are going to play for England’. From a technical level, he was good as nicely. They’re very completely different blokes however they’re each bought ridiculous cricket brains so credit score to the Stewart household for that.”
Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket
