Former English captain Michael Vaughan buttered up a strange opinion on England’s stand-in Test captain Ollie Pope, mentioning that the England No. 3 does not seem to be a likely man in the role of a skipper.
He also added that Vaughan is an ‘insecure human being’ and hence the English vice-captain, Harry Brook, was much more apt for the role to replace Ben Stokes. Stokes was ruled out due to an injury, as he sustained a hamstring injury while playing for the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred.
These comments were sparked towards the English skipper due to his low form, which has been a major area of concern; however, what has been a major concern was that his decisions as a captain have not been useful. He even missed on every chance of a review, as all 8 of his reviews were unsuccessful.
Responding to Vaughan’s criticism, the stand-in skipper only showed positivity, as he claimed that “that’s completely fine,” as he had been expecting such remarks after having had a few bad matches, and he also mentioned talking to Stokes about these remarks being made whenever you enter a crucial role as that of national captain.
“I’m not surprised. Chatting to Stokesy before this series, when you’re captain as well, you’re going to attract a lot more,” said Pope, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
He also said that he wants to have the confidence of his team and the people around him within the four walls, and he will just overhear such comments. The Englishman, who averages 34 in 48 of his career matches, does not blame the responsibility of a skipper’s role for his bad form of 6, 6, 1, and 17.
Rather, Pope has suggested focusing on the third match, which will be played at The Oval, though the English side has already been crowned with a major lead as they go ahead by 2-0.
ENG vs SL: A brief highlight of England’s Second Test win at Lord’s
England has secured another home series win this time against visitors Sri Lanka. The match, which was held at Lord’s, saw the English top-order collapsing, with only Joe Root contributing to the batting scoreboard.
Joe Root led to his 33rd hundred and equaled Alastair Cook’s record for England’s most Test hundreds. He scored a stunning 143 alongside Gus Atkinson, the England No. 8, who went on to score his maiden century as well and rescued England to 427.
The Lankans in return collapsed miserably as they were all out for 196 and they could have sustained a follow-on; however, England decided to bat in their second innings, which again seemed troublesome until Joe Root again scored his 34th hundred to emerge as England’s highest Test batter.
The second innings of the Lankans saw some resistance from their skipper and others, yet Gus Atkinson was the pick again as he picked a 5-fer this time to give England a 2-0 lead with a 190-run victory.
