Ollie Pope has revealed his cricketing idols and the best bowlers that he has ever faced in his life.

The 22-year-old England batsman is one of the most-skilled upcoming cricketers from England who has already made a mark in Test cricket with a century and 3 half-centuries in 11 matches. He plays for Surrey in the domestic competitions.

Pope was asked about the best bowlers he has faced in his life. He went ahead naming Afghanistan’s spin sensation Rashid Khan and veteran South African speedster Dale Steyn followed by his young teammate Kagiso Rabada.

He told Metro Sport, “The best spinner I’ve probably faced is Rashid Khan. The speed his arm comes over at makes him a lot harder to pick than other spinners. There is not a massive amount of difference between his googly and regular leg-spinner which makes it harder to work out what he is going to bowl.”

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“Seamers-wise, probably Dale Steyn. He was coming back from injury when I faced him but you could still tell the skill he had. The same goes for Kagiso Rabada, who I faced this winter when he showed what an unbelievable bowler he is,” he added.

He also mentioned another South African speedster, Morne Morkel, who he has had to face only in the nets for Surrey.

“Morne Morkel, too, is not much fun when I have to face him in the nets at Surrey! The bounce and pace he gets put him right up there,” the youngster said.

Further, Pope was asked about his cricket idols during his childhood and he revealed that he has had an admiration towards his national skipper Joe Root, former Australian wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist and Indian wicket-keeper MS Dhoni.

He said, “Joe Root would be one of them but when I was really young, as I was a keeper as much as a batter back then, I used to love watching Adam Gilchrist. He was the first keeper I remember who was just as good with the gloves as he was with the bat.”

“I’d put MS Dhoni in that category, too, as he was excellent at both disciplines. They also had real style as well,” he added.

(With inputs from Metro Sport)