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Marcus Trescothick has hinted that Ollie Pope will remain England’s number three choice for the Ashes, saying the tourists are “very consistent” in their selection.
England take on the England Lions in the only Ashes warm-up match in Perth from Thursday and are likely to field something close to the line-up that will line up for the first Test on November 21.
Pope has been under pressure to take third place from Jacob Bethel over the past year.
When asked who would fill the role in the tour match, England assistant coach Trescothick told BBC Sport: “I suppose the same kind of number three that we’ve had for a while.”
“I can only say that we are a very consistent team in what we are trying to do,” he added.
Pop Pop averages 41.60 batting at number three for England, although he usually fades as the series progresses. In the home summer, he made a century in his first innings of the series against India, then crossed fifty just once in the next eight.
When England announced their Ashes squad, Pope was replaced as vice-captain by Harry Brook, making the Surrey player more vulnerable to being left out of the team.
At the time, director of cricket Rob Key said Pope was “the man who owned” third place.
Bethel, 22, is considered a promising player and made his maiden professional century in a one-day international against South Africa in September.
The left-hander was part of England’s white-ball tour of New Zealand last month, so had the opportunity to press the Ashes case, but could only manage a top score of 24 in five innings.
It’s still possible Bethell will be part of the tour game. Any Ashes players not in the England squad for the three-day match will join the Lions XI.
By playing just one practice match before the first Test, England want to increase their intensity during the match at Lilac Hill. Captain Ben Stokes, who often misses warm-up matches, is set to play his first game of cricket since July after recovering from a shoulder injury.
However, former England opener Trescothick said the performances in the warm-up probably would not change plans for the first Test against Australia at Optus Stadium.
He added: “I think everyone has a chance to make their demands.” “As I mentioned, how consistent we’ve been with our team selection, it’s been very flat.
“Barring the odd injury we haven’t chopped it up and changed it much. It’s certainly not going to change dramatically before the Ashes series starts because someone raises their hand by taking five wickets or getting 150.
“The team has been the way it is for a while for a reason, so when you come to a big series you are more settled and confident going into it.”
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