Former England captain Michael Atherton has backed the decision to omit batter Ollie Pope from the playing XI for the Boxing Day Test against Australia in Melbourne. The 57-year-old felt that the right-hander had looked “insecure” at number three, adding that his omission from the side might make head coach Brendon McCullum think that everything was falling apart. “Removing him from the firing line is the right call. The No3 position carries special status in Australia, because it is often where their best players have batted, as opposed to No4 in an England side, but Pope has looked too insecure in what is a vital position. After three poor Tests, his average away from home has dropped below 30, and against Australia it is a paltry 17.” “Putting Pope at No3 was the first big call that Brendon McCullum made as head coach, and dropping him will be a painful reminder of how everything is falling apart,” Atherton wrote in ‘The Times’. He felt that Jofra Archer’s absence from the last two Tests was a …