England v Ireland: Ollie Pope eyes Ashes runs after struggle in Australia

Ollie Pope says he is determined to carry his form into the Ashes after struggling in Australia 18 months ago.

Pope plundered 205 on the second day of the Test against Ireland to put England on course for a huge win at Lord's.

The 25-year-old averages 49.80 at number three since being promoted last summer, a stark contrast to the 11.16 he managed in England's 4-0 defeat down under in the winter of 2021-22.

"That last tour was a big learning curve for me," he said.

"If I'm being brutally honest I don't feel like I knew my game well enough and probably wasn't putting quite enough time in.

"I'd hit a lot of balls in the nets and think I was training in a good fashion, but I wasn't thinking about my technique and how to attack each style of bowler.

"That's not me saying I wasn't working hard enough, because I was. I was probably not working smart enough. That's where I've got better over the past 12 months or so."

• Pope and Duckett pile on runs as England near win

Pope was just 20 when he made his England debut against India in 2018, but failed to establish himself in the side across the first four years of his career, averaging 28.66 from 23 matches while batting in a variety of positions.

He was installed at number three when captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum took charge and has been in magnificent form since.

The Surrey man's average is the best of any England number three since Jonathan Trott retired and, during the course of his maiden Test double hundred against the Irish, he became only the seventh Englishman to reach 2,000 Test runs before the age of 26.

Pope has also been installed as England's vice-captain and will serve as Stokes' deputy when the Ashes begin on 16 June.

"There's no denying the fact there are more eyes on Ashes series," he said.

"It's important I go about it the same as I have in every other Test over the last year. Hopefully the runs come from there."

On a sun-kissed Friday at Lord's, Pope crashed 205 from 208 balls, the seventh-fastest Test double hundred of all time and quickest in the UK.

He added 252 for England's second wicket alongside Ben Duckett, who himself fell short of a double on 182. Pope then shared another 156 with Joe Root, the former captain passing 11,000 Test runs in his 56.

The run feast allowed England to declare on 524-4 from just 82.4 overs with an enormous lead of 352.

Ireland were threatened with defeat inside two days, but clung on to reach 97-3 at the close, with all three wickets falling to pace bowler Josh Tongue on his Test debut.

"England have been excellent - very professional," former captain Michael Vaughan told the Test Match Special podcast.

"They have played the style of cricket I completely expected. With the bat in hand we knew they would try to score over six runs per over. I don't think they learned a great deal, even though it was fantastic from the batters.

"The real positive is Josh Tongue. He has got an awkward action. He is tall and bowls quickly.

"He looks like he could be around a while if he could stay fit."