England's Ollie Pope says his Test call-up has been a 'whirlwind'

Ollie Pope says the last 48 hours have been a 'whirlwind' since being called up to England's Test squad for the first time.

The 20-year-old batsman was brought into the 13-man squad in place of Dawid Malan, having scored 684 runs in eight County Championship matches for Surrey this season.

Pope's first taste of being around the England squad came back in May when the hosts played Pakistan at Lord's, with the right-hander invited to spend the first day of the first Test with the team.

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"I met up with the England team last night (Monday) and we had dinner," he said. "It will be good to pick their brains, see what it was like for them when they were making their debuts and when they first got announced to the squad.

"It's been a bit of a whirlwind. I've played a lot of cricket (at Lord's) and I was here on the first morning of the Pakistan Test.

"I was around the changing room and had a hit at lunch so I had a bit of an idea what it was like to be here on the morning of a Test but it's a bit different when you're playing. It will be pretty special walking out, if I get the nod."

Pope only made his first-class debut for Surrey in August 2017 and struck his maiden four-day century in a match-saving effort against Hampshire at The Oval a month later.

Following a prolific start to the season, the Chelsea-born player admitted he had an inkling he could be involved - having read a few articles tagging him on Twitter - but had not wanted to get his hopes up.

And Pope said he could not remember much of the conversation he had with national selector Ed Smith on Sunday morning when he was told the news.

"I was on my way to play in a T20 for Surrey at Essex," he said. "I had a flat tyre so I had to get a lift from a mate but I was in the car on my own, saw Ed Smith's name pop up and I had an idea what it might be about.

"From that moment I hardly remember the conversation, all I remember is it was a good one. I called my parents and had a quick chat with them and they were buzzing."

Pope has struck three centuries for Division One leaders Surrey this season, batting at six, but is confident he will have no problems if he becomes an exact replacement for Malan at four in England's batting line-up.

The wicketkeeper-batsman credits the winter he spent in Australia playing Grade cricket for Campbelltown-Camden in Sydney, where he scored 997 runs in 23 matches, for his form this year.

Surrey teammate Sam Curran's match-winning exploits in the first Test against India has also given Pope the belief that he can take the step up despite the pair both being only 20 years old.

"I've had a good season so far and, from people I've spoken to, they've given me the confidence," Pope said. "Hopefully I take my chance and I have the confidence in my own game to take the next step.

"You hear the stories of some of the greats in the game and people like (Alastair) Cook, who was 20 (on his debut). It's not like it hasn't been done before.

"Against this Indian side, where they bowl a lot of spin, there's not much difference between batting at four and six. When I bat at six sometimes I come in in the 10th over and sometimes I come in with the second new ball.

"I had a really good winter, I was on my own two feet in terms of my cricket. I didn't have a coach, so I had to work things out by myself, whether that was technical or asking people to chuck balls at me.

"Playing week in, week out on Saturdays and Sundays, getting to know my game better, that is massive for a young lad to do when you're trying to find your way in the game.

"Getting to know your strengths and weakness, learning from your dismissals but also the games you play well in and score runs in - it helped kick off the season pretty quickly. I didn't feel like it was the first game of the year.

"I've played with him (Curran) since I was 14 and we have gone through the same path. The way he played last week has given me confidence that I can do it too and it's nice to do it with him."