'I sometimes don't have any appetite because I'm so zoned in on trying to put together a big innings' - Ollie Pope
Ollie Pope will be a key member of the England squad that will attempt to win back the Ashes this winter.
The England vice-captain and 4CAST member is heading Down Under for an eagerly-awaited series that begins with the first Test in at the WACA in Perth on Friday, November 21.
Ahead of the series we caught up with Ollie for an exclusive chat on The Edge.
In part two, he reveals what he'll eat during the Ashes series to fuel himself for the biggest challenge in cricket...
Ollie, let's talk about what you eat during a Test series, how you manage your nutrition, how you eat well not just in between Tests, but during a Test match itself. What's your approach?
Yeah, I think always the night before anyway is always a good chance to just get your carbs in. We're often spending time in hotels, so you're generally eating restaurant food. So for me, I just load up on a Nando's or something like that and get your carbs in and get your sweet potato fries and that kind of thing in.
Obviously, as a batter, I plan on hopefully batting a full day, which is obviously going to take a lot out of the body, so you want to prepare to do that. And then yeah, I really load up and then during games, I think that's probably the slightly harder bit.
I think for me, if I am batting and batting for a long time, I really struggle to... I know I really struggle to eat in the intervals.
So if I'm not out at lunch and I'm 20, 30 not out or hopefully more, then I struggle to eat. So I'll always get a protein shake in, and then maybe a banana and then an energy gel because I just don't have any appetite because I guess I'm so zoned in on trying to put together a big innings. So yeah, while I'm batting, I really struggle with that side of things.
So it's important to get it in through liquids for me. And then at tea as well, depending on what we're doing, if it's a full day in the field, it's about trying to load up as much as you can.
So when it does come my time to bat, I'm feeling as fresh as I can and I'm ready to hopefully put together another innings. So yeah, it's constantly topping up on the carbohydrates through liquids and meals as well.
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