Ollie Pope, England’s stand-in captain, has vowed to ignore criticism of his batting after a disappointing performance against Sri Lanka. Despite England’s perfect record under his leadership, Pope has come under fire for failing to reach 20 in four innings.
Pope’s dismissals in the first Test at Lord’s raised concerns about his ability to balance captaincy and batting. However, he insists that he will not use his new role as an excuse for his poor form.
“I’m not going to put down my average shot to the fact that I was captain,” Pope said. “I’ll learn from it and move on.”
Pope acknowledges that his nervous starts have been an issue, but he is working to improve them. “It’s something that I’m still trying to improve in my game,” he said. “I want to keep on improving, especially the way I start my innings.”
Despite the criticism, Pope remains confident in his abilities. He has sought advice from Joe Root, who has been in excellent form for England. “Any batter in England can learn a fair bit off him,” Pope said.
Pope is excited to play his first Test at The Oval, his home ground. “It’s always special getting back to The Oval,” he said. “Hopefully there will be a great crowd in.”
England are aiming for a summer sweep, having not won every Test in a home season since 2004. “It would be a pretty cool thing to look back on,” Pope said. “We’ve played some really good cricket throughout this summer.”
