Rob Key backs new England regime to unlock ‘serious talent’ in first Test squad

Rob Key has backed England’s new red-ball regime to “unlock” the latent talent in their underperforming Test players after naming a first squad of the Brendon McCullum era complete with a combination of fresh faces and the familiar.

With much attention focused either on the recalled James Anderson and Stuart Broad or on the uncapped Matthew Potts and Harry Brook, perhaps the most intriguing innovation as England go into next month’s three-match series against New Zealand will see Ollie Pope come in at three, having never in a first-class career that now runs to 103 innings batted higher than No 4.

Pope averages 72.73 from 54 knocks for Surrey, mostly batting at four, but has averaged only 28.66 across 40 Test innings for England in which he has appeared only three times in his favoured position. However, England’s selection panel of McCullum, the new captain, Ben Stokes, and Key, the managing director of England men’s cricket, have concluded he has the makings of an ideal international No 3.

“We feel that Ollie Pope is the man,” Key said. “With a lot of these guys now, the bet is that with the talent they have, this environment, these coaches, can get the best out of our most talented cricketers – and Ollie Pope is one of those. If we can unlock him, which I think they can, there’s a seriously good Test cricketer there.”

England have won only one of their past 17 Test matches, but Key insists many misfiring players will flourish under the team’s new management. “There’s some seriously talented cricketers in this country,” he said. “We just need to unlock them and get them playing to the best of their ability. I’m betting on the fact that someone like Brendon McCullum, or Ben Stokes, and a clear vision for how we want to