England batter Ollie Pope says this summer’s Ashes could match the excitement and entertainment of the legendary 2005 series.
England, currently with 10 wins from 11 Tests, will try to win back the urn from world number one side Australia.
In 2005, England won 2-1 to take the Ashes for the first time in 17 years in one of the greatest series of all time.
“It’s just something to really look forward to. This summer has got the potential to be amazing,” said Pope.
England’s defeat of New Zealand in the first Test in Mount Manganui on Sunday was their sixth win in a row, their best run since 2010.
If they win the second and final Test in Wellington, starting on Friday (22:00 GMT Thursday), they will have seven victories in a row for the first time since 2004, when Michael Vaughan’s team won eight in succession in the build-up to their 2005 triumph over Australia.
Though Pope said the current England team are “not really talking about” the Ashes, he admitted it was only “natural” for the series to be in the back of their minds.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today, the 25-year-old said: “That’s the pinnacle, what everyone wants to be a part of. Everyone wants to get their hands on the urn.
“It could be really entertaining, like that 2005 series, which is what made me fall in love with cricket. The prospect of that is really exciting.”
The match in Wellington is England’s final Test of the winter. They begin the home summer with a one-off Test against Ireland on 1 June before the five-match series against Australia begins on 16 June at Edgbaston.
Batter Jonny Bairstow should be fit for the summer after being out since September with a broken leg sustained in an accident playing golf.
His replacement in the Test side, Harry Brook, is currently averaging 77.87 after making three hundreds and three half-centuries in his first five matches.
England coach Brendon McCullum has said Bairstow will return when is fit, leading to questions of who will be forced to drop out.
One option would be for Bairstow to replace Ben Foakes and keep wicket. Foakes, however, has made a number of key contributions with the bat in England’s winning run, including an important 51 in the second innings of the win over New Zealand.
Foakes, 30, said he was “not stressing” about what will happen when Bairstow does come back.
“There have been so many times have in my career when I’ve thought ‘oh that’s going to happen, that’s going to happen’ and it never has,” said Foakes. “There’s no point in worrying about it.”
England captain Ben Stokes has regularly called Foakes the “best wicketkeeper in the world”. In addition to his glovework, he played vital innings in the wins over New Zealand at Lord’s in June, South Africa at Old Trafford in August and Pakistan in Karachi in December.
Since Stokes took over as captain, Foakes has the lowest strike-rate of any regular member of the England top seven, but is averaging more than Stokes, Pope and opener Zak Crawley.
Foakes said he was happy batting “normally” as his team-mates play the in the ultra-aggressive ‘Bazball’ style, named after McCullum.
“I can’t do what a lot of these guys do and it doesn’t make sense for me to try,” said Foakes. “I’m not Bazball.
“Quite a few of the games I’ve contributed have been in more in the role of batting normally in more pressurised situations where you can’t lose a wicket.
“For me trying to perform in those times is quite crucial for the team and that’s where I can probably show my impact the most.”
