Ollie Pope may have had a twinkle in his eye when he remarked that the series decider that starts on Thursday against South Africa is being played at the “Home of Cricket”, but his love for the Oval is perfectly understandable.
Having made his debut for Surrey in 2017, Pope averages 88.54 from 21 first-class matches in SE11, including nine centuries and a career-best 274 against Glamorgan. The famous old ground may have a reputation as a batting paradise but the raw numbers are still mightily impressive from the 24-year-old right-hander.
