England were left “angry” and “bewildered” after Ollie Pope was pressed to take the field with a right shoulder injury at Lord’s, says assistant coach Jeetan Patel.
Ben Stokes’ side were permitted to use a substitute fielder after Pope went down fielding at backward point in Australia’s first innings, but the situation changed after he came out to bat in his usual spot of No 3.
It is understood TV umpire Marais Erasmus may have suggested England would need to field with 10 men if Pope was unfit to join his team-mates. Instead, a replacement should have been approved, with Pope allowed to bat no higher than No 7.
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The best of the action from day three of the second Ashes Test as an England batting collapse handed Australia the advantage
The England vice-captain jarred his right shoulder again fielding on day four and departed for treatment.
Patel told reporters: “We’re a bit bewildered by it all, I suppose. We haven’t clarified with the officials yet why he was told he had to get back out there and field. It’s a pretty tough situation when you nearly bust your shoulder. It’s a bit messy, if I’m being honest with you.
“We’re probably as frustrated as everyone else that was out there and [Pope] is probably more angry at the situation than anything else. He’s pretty sore.
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“It’s a bit confusing. We think, or we assumed, he had to be back out on the field otherwise we’d have to field with 10 men. That made no sense to me, or us.
“We threw him out there in the risk that he wouldn’t have to touch the ball. But it was always going to happen, wasn’t it?
“He’s so committed to this team, he was always going to fall on something. Now he’s back off icing his shoulder.”
Asked whether Pope would be fit for England’s second innings, former New Zealand spinner Patel said: “I’m very certain he’ll bat, very certain he’ll bat at No 3 and very certain he’ll be determined to score runs for England.
“He’s a good kid and we know that he’s going to rock up with a smile on his face and put in for the team. He’ll see it as an opportunity to take the game on.”
England trail Australia by 221 runs at Lord’s after collapsing from 188-1 to 325 all out and then seeing Usman Khawaja (58no) guide the tourists to 130-2 in their second innings.
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Watch how some of England’s established batters gifted their wickets to Australia at Lord’s
Patel says England now need to “set the crowd alight” by dismissing Australia cheaply with Pat Cummins’ side seemingly well on course to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
“We’ve seen some amazing things from this [England] team, some crazy things,” added Patel. “This team is about breaking records. They want to set new standards and sell out grounds.
“A way to do that is to bowl them out and set the crowd alight, then chase whatever it is down.”
Watch day four of the second Ashes Test, from Lord’s, live on Sky Sports Cricket on Saturday. Build-up starts at 10.15am ahead of the first ball at 11am. You can also stream with NOW.