OLLIE Pope’s remarkable progress from school to Test cricket could be completed on the grandest of stages after being called up by England.

The 20-year-old batsman had only just finished at Cranleigh School this time two years ago, yet found himself this week preparing to face India at Lord’s on Thursday, a staggering rise through the game.

Surrey’s crop of exciting youngsters had already been highlighted by all-rounder Sam Curran – also 20 – whose man-of-the-match performance at Edgbaston had much to do with England going 1-0 up, and the call-up of his county colleague was another indication of director of cricket Alec Stewart’s determination to produce not only a successful team, but players fit to move up to international level.

Pope, who attended prep school in Haslemere and was one of many youngsters who rose through the colts section at Guildford – Martin Bicknell, Ashley Giles, Rikki Clarke and Jade Dernbach are among the others – has only played 15 County Championship matches, yet England showed their interest by asking him to train with the squad during the England v Pakistan Test at Lord’s earlier in the summer and then selected him for the Lions, where he scored a half-century and kept tidily.

“Everyone always says that if you’re good enough, you’re old enough,” said Pope.

“It’s nice hearing those stories. Just knowing I’m not one of the first ones to play when I’m young or after not a huge amount of games. Hearing those stories are pretty inspirational – they make you realise what you can do.”

Pope’s modest air only partially camouflages a highly confident player whose ability to learn every time he steps up a level is what persuaded Stewart and head coach Michael Di Venuto to include him in a Royal London Cup semi-final two years ago, weeks after he had left school, along with ramp shots and flicks ideal for the final overs of limited-overs matches.

But Pope showed he was much more than a white-ball marauder last year with a maiden Championship century against Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl, building on it this year with 684 runs at 85 a time, including three more centuries and playing a crucial role in Surrey’s ascent to the top of Division One by 34 points.

He made use of the opportunity to spend last winter playing grade cricket – and learning about life in a different country – in Sydney, not only scoring a shoal of runs for Campbelltown Ghosts, but making such a good impression off the field that he was praised in the New South Wales state parliament by the area’s MP, Chris Patterson, for being ‘an absolute gentleman and wonderful role model’.

Assuming Pope makes the side, he will need all his qualities, not least if England send him in at number four, given he bats two places lower for Surrey.

His county were expecting to be without both Pope and Curran for the Vitality Blast T20 clash against Sussex at The Oval on Thursday, heading to Taunton to meet leaders Somerset 24 hours later and taking on Gloucestershire at Bristol on Sunday.

They went into those three games on the back of wins against Middlesex and Essex last weekend, the first thanks to an astonishing display of power-hitting from Aaron Finch and Jason Roy. Surrey looked outsiders after Paul Stirling took advantage of being dropped off the first ball of the game to hammer 109 in 58 balls so that the visitors reached 221-5.

But Australian Finch’s 117 not out from 52 balls – matched by Roy’s 84 in 37, the pair smashing 18 fours and 15 sixes – saw them crash 194 by the 14th over, victory completed by nine wickets with 24 balls to spare.

Essex’s 157-5 at Chelmsford was overtaken by six wickets with 3.3 overs in hand, Nic Maddinson (49 not out) and Clarke (37 not out) completing the job.