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Ollie Pope: 'England will fight back against Australia on day two'

Pope: 'England will fight back on day two'
© Reuters
Ollie Pope backs England to "come back hard" on day two of the opening Ashes Test after Australia started the series by bowling the tourists out for 147.

England batsman Ollie Pope has backed his team to "come back hard" at Australia on day two of the opening Ashes Test match.

Despite winning the toss in Brisbane, England were reduced to 11-3, not helped by Rory Burns being bowled by the opening ball of the series and captain Joe Root also being dismissed for a duck.

England were eventually out for 147, Pope contributing 35 from 79 balls to help steady the ship to a certain degree, but the middle-order player believes that the tourists should not be judged until both teams have batted on a pitch which is offering assistance to the seam bowlers.

Speaking after the conclusion of day one, Pope said: "Both teams have to bat on it before we know what a good score on this wicket is. They caught very well so it's important we take our chances and give them no freebies.

"We're frustrated we didn't get the big score we wanted but we have to realise this is a long series, we're not going to get too down about today and we'll come back hard tomorrow."

On an overcast day, England were unable to respond during the evening session after a storm descended on Brisbane.

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Written by
Darren Plant

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England's James Anderson pictured in August 2020
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