• He fits nicely into that position, says captain before Lord’s Test • Root says older players should not lose hope over Test chances

Joe Root expects Ollie Pope to demonstrate his maturity as England continue to embrace youth by entrusting him with the No 4 position, despite the 20‑year‑old never having batted there for his county.

You have to go back to The Wanderers in 1999 for the last time an England batsman made his Test debut in the same middle-order berth, when Michael Vaughan arrived at the crease with two runs on the board following a rampant start by South Africa’s Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock.

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Pope is five years younger than Vaughan that day and, in the midst of a fine season for Surrey as he averages 85 from No 6, faces a wounded India side looking to square the series at Lord’s. But Root, himself an early starter when making his debut in Nagpur just shy of his 22nd birthday, appeared unconcerned about Pope’s inexperience.

Speaking after nets, when he shook off a rap on the knuckles from Chris Woakes as the seamer pushed to secure the final spot instead of Moeen Ali, Root said: “Having seen [Pope] play a little bit, and the way his game is set up,it’s very much transferable to bat at No 4 in Test cricket.

“I know that might be seen as quite a big jump but he’s an exciting talent and with the guys around him he fits nicely into that position in our team. I’m looking forward to him going out there and being himself, and playing exactly as he has done throughout this summer. He’s very mature for a young man.”

Pope was also offered a warm welcome to Test cricket by India’s captain, Virat Kohli, who made his debut aged 22 and, had it not been for a neck injury, would have been Pope’s county teammate at the Oval this summer.

Kohli said of the young right-hander: “It is going to be a big occasion for him. We are focused on taking all the wickets and he is obviously going to be one of them.

“We want to try to knock him over as early as possible. On a larger front, I am happy for him, as a cricketer I understand how important it is. I will tell him to enjoy the occasion ... and not get too many runs.”

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Pope replaces Dawid Malan, whose two drops off Kohli at second slip on 21 and 51 were arguably responsible for a compelling first Test as the batsman went on to a first-innings 149, and scored 200 runs in the match. Jos Buttler takes Malan’s place in the cordon and Root has called on England to show greater ruthlessness in the field.

“To create two clear chances was testament to how we’ve got good plans against [Kohli] and found a way to potentially get him out,” he said. “It’s nice to know we are doing the right things, but it’s about taking those chances when they come.”

The England captain enjoyed high praise for his leadership at Edgbaston but looked to deflect this back on to the strong characters in his dressing room, even if one of those – Ben Stokes – is missing while his trial for affray continues.

With Pope on debut and Sam Curran, also 20 years old, fresh from earning the man-of-the-match award at Edgbaston, the Yorkshireman is leading a more fresh-faced team.

But he insisted the more senior players in domestic cricket, including the 30-year-old Malan, who was due for a debrief with the national selector, Ed Smith, on Wednesday, must not give up. “We’ve got to be realistic: these guys are exciting young players and will do some good stuff but it might not all happen straight away. We have to be patient.

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“One thing that is really important is other players in county cricket, if they are slightly older, the door is not shut on them either.

“It is about scoring runs and taking wickets. You want to give youngsters an opportunity, but it’s about winning and finding the right team against any sort of opposition on whatever the surface.”