ENGLAND batsman Ollie Pope delighted around 50 aspiring Bucks youngsters when he joined a coaching session at Gerrards Cross on Sunday.

Pope, 21, took part in coaching at the club run by the Future Legends training academy.

Boys and girls aged between 9 and 11 years old listened as the England star demonstrated how to play ramp shots and other skills from the Twenty20 and longer form of the professional game.

After training Pope signed autographs, and then spent around 25 minutes in a question and answer session with the young players, compered by a

Gerrards Cross

player, George Eykyn.

Topics raised included routines before a Test match, what diet a top player follows and how to unwind between matches.

Pope also revealed that he supports Arsenal and has a golf handicap of eight.

The England batsman told the young cricketers that his own career had really taken off when he was 16. The most important thing at this stage in their careers, he said, was simply to enjoy the game.

Pope, who played two test matches for England against India last year, started the 2019 season with a massive knock for Surrey in the opening match against the MCC, scoring a career best 251.

However, later in April he dislocated his shoulder and had to undergo surgery, from which he is now recovering.

Pope has resumed training with Surrey and is looking forward to playing first-class cricket again in the coming weeks, aiming to score runs and win back his place in the England test team.