‘Lucky’ Ollie Pope grateful for friend Aaron Ramsdale’s presence

Ollie Pope salutes the crowd at Trent Bridge after reaching his century. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action Images/Reuters

Ollie Pope said he had been lucky after he was dropped twice on his way to scoring 121 on the first day of the second Test against West Indies, and had an unlikely explanation for his good fortune: the presence of his friend, the Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

“He seems to be my lucky charm,” Pope said. “He’s come to two other games and in one of them I scored 200. It always happens to be the day he’s there that I get the runs, so I think he can come more often.”