Key: England's No. 3 decision won't define careers

Rob Key, has insisted that England's looming selection call between Jacob Bethell and Ollie Pope will not define either player's career ahead of Friday's first Test against India in Leeds.

Bethell and Pope are in direct competition, with one of the pair set to walk out as England's No. 3 at Headingley and the other likely to miss out on selection altogether. Key, England's managing director of men's cricket, has framed the call as a decision as to "which really good player" they should pick, and said: "It's a good position to be in."

Pope batted at No. 3 in England's most recent Test against Zimbabwe and scored 171 to extend his strong record in the role, where he averages 43.06. But Bethell, 21, scored three half-centuries in the same position during December's tour to New Zealand when Pope kept wicket and batted down the order, and is English cricket's coming man.

"I don't see it as a problem, really," Key told the Telegraph's cricket podcast. "You win either way, really. You've got two brilliant players that can do that role. Ollie Pope's been fantastic in that tough spot; he played brilliantly in New Zealand… alright, he was in a different role, but we've got two brilliant options in those spots.

"A tough decision is when you've got no options, and you've got to just then try and find something from nowhere. That's when I'm sort of scratching my head. This one is: 'Which really good player are we going to pick?' It's a good position to be in."

Bethell missed England's win over Zimbabwe because he was playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL. Michael Atherton has been a prominent critic of the decision to allow him to stay in India rather than returning for that Test, but Key said that he had no regrets.

"I don't think [that] the careers of Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell are defined by what happens this week, or whether he came back to play the Zimbabwe Test. He may not have played that Test match," Key said. "Watching his development has been extraordinary, and him going out there and playing in the IPL, I think was brilliant for him. We'll get the return on that in the future."

Key also suggested that Mark Wood, who is sidelined with a knee injury, retains an outside chance of being fit for the end of the five-match series. "He potentially could be ready for the back end," he said. "You may see him by the end of the series, but certainly then when you fast-forward to the Ashes, he should be fine for that."