ESPNcricinfo Awards 2024 men's Test batting winner: All rise for Pope

Prior to arriving in India, England had a training camp in Abu Dhabi to prepare in the most extreme way possible. Local ground staff were encouraged to rake dry pitches with a bit of sawdust to create ludicrous spinning decks. Batters were encouraged to find ways to score rather than survive. Naturally, they opted for sweeps.

The aim was clear - quit moaning and deal with it. A few weeks later, in the first Test, in Hyderabad, Pope did just that.

Eventually, anyway. England's No. 3 stank out the first innings with 1 from 11 on his return from surgery after dislocating his right shoulder during the second Ashes Test in July 2023. The only one in the top six not to make it to 20, he wasn't considered a potential saviour when England began their second innings 190 behind. And then he put the whole team on his back.

It could not have been a more Pope innings - a shot a ball, fizzing with activity at the crease. That restlessness displayed in the first innings was now refashioned as a weapon.

As the pitch became more amenable to the whims of spinners R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja (who had dismissed Pope in the first innings) and Axar Patel, every delivery became an event. Pope arrived in the tenth over at 45 for 1 and his freneticism made for a potent cocktail. His necessary risk-taking added what seemed an unnecessary breathlessness, like a tightrope walker opting to sprint.

Even when England fell to 163 for 5, Pope did not relent. By that point he had made it past 50 - brought up in 54 deliveries - and was nailing those sweeps and reverses he had been practising on those Frankenstein's monster UAE dust tracks. Moreover, the ones he did not nail served the purpose of redirecting balls targeting his stumps, off both edges.

Though his sixth-wicket partner, Ben Foakes, showed increasing aptitude in challenging situations, Pope decided to absorb most of the pressure. The return of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj to the attack was a victory itself, particularly as England were now ahead. It was only once the century was brought up - off a whipped three through midwicket - that he started to flex, typified by a no-look ramp off Jadeja, which set an altogether different feel. He was now in charge.

He was dropped twice - on 110 and then 186 - before eventually falling to Bumrah for England's last wicket. India fell 29 short of a 231-run target thanks to Hartley's 7 for 62, and the tourists took a 1-0 lead in a series. And with that, Pope's knock had the extra credence of not just being match-altering but match-winning, too.

English Test batters don't leave their crease often when playing spin. Which is why when Pope parked the sweeps for a moment to dance down the track and hit Axar over the top and down the ground at the end of the 27th over, there was a tonal shift out in the middle. Ben Duckett and Joe Root had fallen - the latter Bumrah-ed for just 2 - and yet this crisp strike at the end of crisper footwork was a nod to unwavering intent and sharp focus.

196 Pope's score was the highest in the second innings for England in India, surpassing Alastair Cook's 176 in Ahmedabad in 2012. It was also the fourth-highest for any visiting batter in the second innings against India in India.

25 Number of reverse sweeps or reverse scoops Pope attempted in the match. England, as a whole, attempted 54, scoring 84 off them for the loss of one wicket.

"If we can keep nailing [unconventional shots], we get more bad balls as batters if we can hit their best ball for four with a reverse sweep. That is going to lead to more short balls and more half-volleys and open up the outfield."
- Ollie Pope

"Probably the best [batting] that I have seen in Indian conditions by an overseas batter."
- Rohit Sharma, India captain

"I haven't seen a better exhibition of sweeping and reverse-sweeping [than Ollie Pope] ever in these conditions against that quality of bowling."
- Rahul Dravid, India Test coach

Harry Brook
317 vs Pakistan, first Test, Multan
A triple-century struck at basically a run a ball - 310 deliveries, slower than only Virender Sehwag. It ensured England dwarfed Pakistan's score of 556 with their eventual 823 for 7 declared, and bought them time to seal an innings victory with more than two sessions to spare. The sixth triple-hundred by an Englishman was a marvel of endurance - Brook spent nearly seven hours at the crease in sweltering temperatures - without ever feeling like a drag. It was so much more than a pure distillation of Bazball - it was hundred-proof Brook.