Pope has sought out the wisdom of former England Test captain Joe Root.
Ollie Pope intends to modify off as England captain when he’s batting at Lord’s this week after struggling to juggle the twin demands in his first Test deputising for the injured Ben Stokes.
With Stokes out of the three-match series against Sri Lanka due to a hamstring tear he suffered in The Hundred, Pope is in charge and oversaw a five-wicket victory at Emirates Old Trafford last week.
The experience was not without its drawbacks as Pope was twice dismissed for six and he reflected that his leadership duties were still weighing heavy on him when he went out to bat at number three.
“One among the things I can improve on this week and the subsequent is ensuring you don’t do this,” Pope said ahead of the second Test which starts on Thursday.
“You walk off the pitch and, once you’re batting three, you get your pads straight on and you understand you may be in each time.
“That’s probably the important thing – not serious about all the selections you only made on the pitch, just considering ‘right, now it’s time to bat’. You’ll be able to reflect on (the day) at the tip of the day’s play.”
Pope, whose 40-plus average under Stokes is up from a profession 34.64, has sought out the wisdom of former England Test captain Joe Root in an try and separate batting from leadership responsibilities.
Root, Stokes’ immediate predecessor, averaged 46.44 during his tenure from 2017-2022 – with 14 centuries in 64 Tests – and the Yorkshireman was ceaselessly England’s batting linchpin in an under-performing side.
“We just spoke about the way it’s more taxing in the sphere but it surely’s finding slightly routine and doing small things,” Pope said.
“It’s just ensuring that I keep doing what has brought success during the last couple of years and having that on repeat. It’s just finding a technique to compartmentalise.
“Chatting to Rooty, he’s obviously got an ideal cricket brain and is England’s best batter, so we just bounced a number of ideas off one another.”
Olly Stone is ready for his fourth Test appearance and first since June 2021 this week, with Mark Wood joining fellow regulars Stokes and Zak Crawley on the injured list for the rest of the series.
Despite James Anderson being eased into retirement and Jamie Smith ousting each Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes as wicketkeeper, England are 4 from 4 this summer and targeting a clean sweep of wins.
While the axis of Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum has been typified by aggressive batting, England showed one other string to their bow in Manchester by chasing 205 in a more sedate 57.2 overs.
“With what Brendon did leading into this summer, he made some brutal changes that he (thinks) will take the team right into a higher place going forward,” Pope said.
“We don’t use the term Bazball but we played a unique form of cricket (at Old Trafford) and that’s something that may keep taking us forward as a team.
“After we may be ruthless, we’ve got to attempt to be ruthless simply to win as many games as possible. Other days, we’ll rating slightly bit more freely and take the wickets in a shorter period of time.”
Five years on from his debut, Olly Stone is back at Lord’s and able to go 👊
Stokes has been batting within the Lord’s nets ahead of the second Test and Pope believes the talismanic all-rounder will likely be firing on all cylinders for this winter’s tours of Pakistan and Recent Zealand.
“He wishes he was on the market but it surely’s a very good sign going forward,” Pope added. “He’s still a good way off playing, he’s not attempting to play as a batter and first slip just yet.
“Injuries are never ideal but they’re also great probabilities for people to maintain improving their game and a have a little bit of time for reflection and take into consideration what they’ll work on.
“I’m sure that’s exactly what he’s doing within the nets. Going into that Pakistan series after which Recent Zealand he’s going to be as fresh as anyone.”
