Ollie Pope discusses captaining England without Ben Stokes: “It’s still Stokesy’s squad”

The 82nd captain of England’s Test cricket team, Ollie Pope, will take the helm as they get ready to play a three-match series against Sri Lanka beginning on August 21. As Ben Stokes is sidelined with a hamstring injury, the 26-year-old will take over as captain in a stand-in capacity.

Pope has only played in one first-class match and eight T20 Blast games as a captain, therefore his experience is somewhat limited. Last summer, he was named vice captain of England.

Stokes participated in the team’s preparations even though he couldn’t play; he attended the training session and spoke with the players before the game. Pope thanked Stokes for his participation and said that although though he will be leading the team, he will still look to Stokes for direction.

“Stokesy’s squad remains intact. Regarding how they want to approach this week and the series as a whole, everyone is fairly clear. Stokesy in the changing room is a terrific addition, in my opinion. I feel like he’s going to let me do my own thing during this Test series, but if I want to lean on him, I can lean on him. At the pre-match press conference, he stated, “I’ve picked his brains a little bit on that because I know how well he’s managed our bowlers in particular.”

In terms of batting, I remain at position three: Ollie Pope

Pope is conscious of striking a balance between his duties as a hitter and a captain when he assumes this position. He recently hit a century and a half-century against the West Indies, demonstrating his exceptional touch. Pope is conscious of the difficulty in separating his captaincy and batting responsibilities, though.

“Hopefully, my batting is virtually in the black. I’ve continued to practice hard in the batting nets, just like I would in a Test match. When it comes to batting, I’m still ranked third, and my role for the team is to go out and score huge runs. “When I had a brief stint for Surrey in the T20, the first thing I had to remind myself was that it’s batting time,” he continued.

Pope, who believes that some senior players have a terrific cricket brain, is also hoping to benefit from their expertise. As England looks to sweep an ODI series against a Sri Lankan team that just defeated India, the team’s combined experience will be vital.

“You can then assume the role of captain and give the team a little more consideration for the remainder of the game. On the pitch, I can rely on some amazing men as well.

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With vice captain Harry Brook and individuals like Joe Root (Rooty) on the pitch, Brooky is a superb cricket brain. He continued, “There’s plenty of experience to bounce off a few ideas.”