England Batsman Ollie Pope names Arsenal Goalkeeper as "Lucky Charm"

England Batsman Ollie Pope names Arsenal Goalkeeper as "Lucky Charm"

England batsman and wicket keeper Ollie Pope has labeled England and Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale as his “lucky charm,” after he scored 121 in England’s second test match against West Indies in Nottingham.

Ramsdale and Pope's History

Cricket fan Ramsdale, 26, was in the crowd as a guest of Gunners fan Pope, and viewed what was a spectacular innings from the number three batsman.

Last summer, Ramsdale was also watching on when Pope managed to score a double century at Lord’s against Ireland. Having made six ton-plus scores over the course of his career, two of them have occurred in the presence of Ramsdale, who in turn has only been present for those two England matches. Coincidence…?.

Pope’s most recent three figure score helped England to 416 all-out on an action-packed opening day of the test.

Ollie Pope 🤝 @AaronRamsdale98

The Arsenal goalkeeper was in attendance at Trent Bridge yesterday to watch Pope score a century vs West Indies 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 pic.twitter.com/1MWzxuBCea

— England's Barmy Army 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) July 19, 2024

“He messaged me last night,” Pope said, “and I managed to sort him a couple of tickets. I’m obviously a big Arsenal fan so I go to support him a fair bit. He seems to be my lucky charm on the cricket pitch as well.”

Ben Stokes Talking to the England Squad

Ramsdale, who though picked for England’s final Euro 2024 squad failed to play a single minute, also made his way up to the sky sports commentary box during the course of the innings, and discussed what cricket captain Ben Stokes said to the squad in a pre-tournament meeting.

“He spoke really honestly about his whole career pathway,” said Ramsdale. “It was great to hear his ups and downs, but I think most importantly, particularly for cricketers and also footballers, it’s about that next action, you know, you might make a mistake, someone might lose a header on a set piece, but it’s about that next action, that next ball.”

🗣️ "We had a great team spirit"
🗣️ 'Ben spoke honestly about his career and pathway'

Aaron Ramsdale reflects on England's time at the Euros and a visit from Ben Stokes 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 pic.twitter.com/4wMMC5A8jG

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 18, 2024

Speaking of his time in Germany as part of the England camp, Ramsdale stated: “It was so much fun, we had a great team spirit on and off the pitch, it was just unfortunate on that final day that we couldn’t get it working.”

Ramsdale made 10 appearances for Arsenal last season, keeping three clean sheets, before being ousted by summer signing David Raya, who is now the established number one.