England’s stand-in skipper Ollie Pope has said that there is a lot to like about Josh Hull, who will make his international cricket debut during the 3rd Test against Sri Lanka. Hull, who is 6 foot and 7 inches tall, came into the playing XI to replace the injured Mark Wood before the second Test at Lord’s. The left-arm pace bowler only made his first-class debut last year as well.

Hull was roped in to replace Matthew Potts in the starting lineup for England and was the only change for the game as the hosts look to complete a clean sweep at the Oval. Speaking at the press conference, Pope joked that Hull has a ‘massive ceiling’ and a good build, which according to him is necessary. The England skipper said that it would be an exciting week for Hull and expects him to have a few nerves coming into the team, despite the series being sealed.

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“He has obviously got a massive ceiling and he is pretty massive himself as well, which is pretty handy as a bowler,” Ollie Pope said. “When you are 6ft 7in, you can get it down pushing up to the 90mph mark. And with the left-arm swing, there is a lot to like about it. I think it is a real exciting week for him. The last match of the series. We are 2-0 up, but he is obviously going to still have those nerves coming in. We know what he can do moving forward. It is a great week for him to come in, learn a little bit, and show off exactly what he can do.”

In his first-class career, Josh Hull has played 9 matches, taking 15 wickets which came at an average of 58.06. His List A performance is more notable, with 17 wickets from 9 games at a more impressive average of 24.23.

England Playing XI for Oval Test:

Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook (vice-captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Olly Stone, Josh Hull, Shoaib Bashir.