Ollie Pope says Ben Stokes will allow him to captain England his way as he steps up to lead the side for the first time in the three-Test series against Sri Lanka.
Regular skipper Stokes is out for the rest of the summer with a left hamstring injury sustained playing in The Hundred but will be in the England dressing room over the coming weeks.
Pope, Stokes’ usual vice-captain, says he will lean on the all-rounder when needed but will have the freedom to “do my own thing”, starting at Emirates Old Trafford from Wednesday.
The whole series is live on Sky Sports as England aim to build on July’s 3-0 sweep of West Indies, in which Pope scored a sixth Test hundred, as well as two half-centuries.
The stand-in skipper, who will have fellow batter Harry Brook as his vice-captain, said: “I am sat next to [Stokes] in the changing room and it will be great to have him around.
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Stokes joined England training at Emirates Old Trafford ahead of the series opener against Sri Lanka
Pope won’t ‘overcomplicate’ during England captaincy
“It is still Stokesy’s team and if I want to lean on him I can, but I think he will let me do my own thing.
“He will be watching and chat with Baz [Test coach Brendon McCullum] so I can have those conversations in the intervals if I think something needs to change.
Wednesday 21st August 10:00am
“I know how well he has managed our bowlers especially, so I have picked his brains on it, but it will be a lot of the same messages with a different voice and in my own way.
“It’s about not overcomplicating it for me. I think I read the game fairly well and Stokesy and I have often been of the same mindset. As the series goes on, it will let itself out for me.
When I got appointed vice-captain a year and a half ago, there is always a chance something like this could happen. It’s not necessarily something you dream about but it is one of the greatest honours in English cricket. It’s exciting for me and a chance for us as a team to take a step forward.
“Brooky has a great cricket brain, [Joe Root] too, so there is plenty of experience out there to bounce a few ideas off.
“Everyone is pretty clear how they want to go about this week and the series in general.”
Root: Pope will not let the game drift
Speaking to Sky Sports about Pope’s temporary stint as captain, Stokes’ predecessor as skipper Joe Root said: “I think Ollie is a very forward-thinking young cricketer that has gained a huge amount of confidence and experience over the last couple of years.
Former England captain Joe Root says skippering his country will be a valuable experience for Pope
“He is well-respected within the dressing room and is very similar-minded to Ben in how he wants to play the game so I think it will be a seamless transition in many ways.
“I don’t think he will let the game drift and he is the sort of character that will take the challenge head on.
“The way Ben plays the game, this could potentially happen again so I think it is important for us to see what that looks like.
“It’s not ideal. We’d love Ben to be out there as he is a massive part of everything we do and I’m sure he will still have a role to play in this series, but thinking way down the line I’m sure it will be a valuable learning experience.”
‘Potts has bowled his heart out for England’
England have made two changes to the XI that completed the 3-0 victory over West Indies at Edgbaston last month, with Stokes replaced by Durham fast bowler Matthew Potts and Dan Lawrence drafted in to open the batting alongside Ben Duckett after Zak Crawley suffered a fractured finger.
Dan Lawrence (left) and Matthew Potts (right) will play for England in Manchester following the injuries to Zak Crawley and Stokes
Potts’ selection instead of uncapped Essex batter Jordan Cox gives England a long tail, with the 25-year-old or Gus Atkinson likely to come in at No 8 ahead of Mark Wood and Shoaib Bashir.
Pope is confident England will score the runs required with Chris Woakes, who has been bumped up to No 7, having registered one century and seven fifties in his Test career and Potts notching a maiden County Championship hundred this season.
With the ball in Test cricket, Potts has 23 wickets in six matches – most recently featuring against Ireland in June 2023 – while he has struck 21 times for Durham in the Championship this term.
Pope said: “We have got guys who can come in and score runs down the order and having three seamers is not the easiest ask, so it is a great opportunity to see Pottsy.
“Whenever he has pulled on an England shirt he has not let anyone done. He has bowled his heart out and bowled beautifully.”
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Nasser Hussain previews his documentary Cricket in Colombo which will be broadcast during the first Test between England and Sri Lanka on Sky Sports
Pope: England won’t underestimate Sri Lanka
England have won their previous three Test series against Sri Lanka – two away and one at home – but were beaten 1-0 back in 2014 when the tourists followed a draw at Lord’s with a 100-run victory at Headingley.
Pope added: “We don’t underestimate any of the teams that come over here. Our target is to win 3-0 but we realise Sri Lanka have got some good experienced guys who have played a lot of Test matches.
“The main focus is on ourselves. We will just play our best cricket and try and put on a good performance. Hopefully the scoreboard at the end reflects that.”
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Lawrence says England’s plans against Sri Lanka will not change under Pope
On his plans if the first Test is weather-affected, Pope said: “If it rains, it rains. I think naturally, with the way the guys play, we do look to move the game forward. If we play well, the game will move forward quicker than it can do at times.
“If it suddenly rains on day three that’s something that we might discuss then, but for now the focus is to go out and whether it takes us five days or however long, win the game.”
Stokes’ injury gives Sri Lanka hope
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Watch as Stokes is carried off injured during The Hundred…
Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva believes Stokes’ injury has given the tourists fresh hope of springing a surprise.
De Silva is leading his country’s first Test series on these shores since 2016 and heads into the opener with the odds stacked against Sri Lanka, who have won just three of their previous 18 Tests here.
“He is the balance of their side. He’s the key player for them, when it comes to bowling, batting, everything,” said De Silva.
“A new guy (Dan Lawrence) comes in to play…there will be pressure on him, coming back into the side to open in these conditions.
“We have quality seamers in our side and we have a world-class spinner with us (Prabath Jayasuriya). If he comes into the game in the second innings, we feel we have a good chance to win the game.”
Sri Lanka have handed a debut to pace bowler Milan Rathnayake and have at their disposal the wild card Kamindu Mendis, an ambidextrous all-rounder who bowls both right and left-arm finger spin.
Also in their ranks is former England batter Ian Bell, with the five-time Ashes winner working as a batting consultant.
“He was a quality player who played a lot of Test cricket and one-day cricket in England. His points will be valuable for us and as a batting unit, we are all getting tips from him,” added De Silva.
Watch England’s first Test against Sri Lanka, from Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 10am on Wednesday 11am first ball)
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