New Zealand v England: Ashes can match 2005, says Ollie Pope

England's 2005 Ashes triumph was their archetypal successful 17 years

England batter Ollie Pope says this summer's Ashes could lucifer the excitement and amusement of the legendary 2005 series.

In 2005, England won 2-1 to instrumentality the Ashes for the archetypal clip successful 17 years successful 1 of the top bid of each time.

"It's conscionable thing to truly look guardant to. This summertime has got the imaginable to beryllium amazing," said Pope.

England's decision of New Zealand successful the archetypal Test successful Mount Manganui connected Sunday was their sixth triumph successful a row, their champion tally since 2010.

If they triumph the 2nd and last Test successful Wellington, starting connected Friday (22:00 GMT Thursday), they volition person 7 victories successful a enactment for the archetypal clip since 2004, erstwhile Michael Vaughan's squad won 8 successful succession successful the build-up to their 2005 triumph implicit Australia.

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Though Pope said the existent England squad are "not truly talking about" the Ashes, helium admitted it was lone "natural" for the bid to beryllium successful the backmost of their minds.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today, the 25-year-old said: "That's the pinnacle, what everyone wants to beryllium a portion of. Everyone wants to get their hands connected the urn.

"It could beryllium truly entertaining, similar that 2005 series, which is what made maine autumn successful emotion with cricket. The imaginable of that is truly exciting."

The lucifer successful Wellington is England's last Test of the winter. They statesman the location summertime with a one-off Test against Ireland connected 1 June earlier the five-match bid against Australia begins connected 16 June astatine Edgbaston.

Batter Jonny Bairstow should beryllium acceptable for the summertime aft being retired since September with a breached limb sustained successful an mishap playing golf.

His replacement successful the Test side, Harry Brook, is presently averaging 77.87 aft making 3 hundreds and 3 half-centuries successful his archetypal 5 matches.

England manager Brendon McCullum has said Bairstow volition instrumentality erstwhile is fit, starring to questions of who volition beryllium forced to driblet out.

One enactment would beryllium for Bairstow to regenerate Ben Foakes and support wicket. Foakes, however, has made a fig of cardinal contributions with the bat successful England's winning run, including an important 51 successful the 2nd innings of the triumph implicit New Zealand.

Foakes, 30, said helium was "not stressing" astir what volition hap erstwhile Bairstow does travel back.

"There person been truthful galore times person successful my vocation erstwhile I've thought 'oh that's going to happen, that's going to happen' and it ne'er has," said Foakes. "There's nary constituent successful worrying astir it."

England skipper Ben Stokes has regularly called Foakes the "best wicketkeeper successful the world". In summation to his glovework, helium played captious innings successful the wins implicit New Zealand astatine Lord's successful June, South Africa astatine Old Trafford successful August and Pakistan successful Karachi successful December.

Since Stokes took implicit arsenic captain, Foakes has the lowest strike-rate of immoderate regular subordinate of the England apical seven, but is averaging much than Stokes, Pope and opener Zak Crawley.

Foakes said helium was blessed batting "normally" arsenic his team-mates play the successful the ultra-aggressive 'Bazball' style, named aft McCullum.

"I can't bash what a batch of these guys bash and it doesn't marque consciousness for maine to try," said Foakes. "I'm not Bazball.

"Quite a fewer of the games I've contributed person been successful much successful the relation of batting usually successful much pressurised situations wherever you can't suffer a wicket.

"For maine trying to execute successful those times is rather important for the squad and that's wherever I tin astir apt amusement my interaction the most."