Ollie Pope says Ben Stokes will enable him to captain England his means as he steps as much as lead the aspect for the primary time within the three-Check sequence in opposition to Sri Lanka.
Common skipper Stokes is out for the remainder of the summer time with a left hamstring damage sustained taking part in in The Hundred however will probably be within the England dressing room over the approaching weeks.
Pope, Stokes’ traditional vice-captain, says he’ll lean on the all-rounder when wanted however can have the liberty to “do my very own factor”, beginning at Emirates Outdated Trafford from Wednesday.
Sky Sports activities’ Nick Knight discusses what Pope’s stint as England captain will appear like with Nasser Hussain, Eoin Morgan and Michael Atherton
The entire sequence is dwell on Sky Sports activities as England goal to construct on July’s 3-0 sweep of West Indies, by which Pope scored a sixth Check hundred, in addition to two half-centuries.
The stand-in skipper, who can have fellow batter Harry Brook as his vice-captain, stated: “I’m sat subsequent to [Stokes] within the altering room and it is going to be nice to have him round.
Stokes joined England coaching at Emirates Outdated Trafford forward of the sequence opener in opposition to Sri Lanka
Pope will not ‘overcomplicate’ throughout England captaincy
“It’s nonetheless Stokesy’s workforce and if I wish to lean on him I can, however I feel he’ll let me do my very own factor.
“He will probably be watching and chat with Baz [Test coach Brendon McCullum] so I can have these conversations within the intervals if I feel one thing wants to alter.
Wednesday twenty first August 10:00am
“I understand how nicely he has managed our bowlers particularly, so I’ve picked his brains on it, however it is going to be lots of the identical messages with a special voice and in my very own means.
“It is about not overcomplicating it for me. I feel I learn the sport pretty nicely and Stokesy and I’ve usually been of the identical mindset. Because the sequence goes on, it is going to let itself out for me.
After I received appointed vice-captain a yr and a half in the past, there’s at all times an opportunity one thing like this might occur. It’s not essentially one thing you dream about however it is among the best honours in English cricket. It’s thrilling for me and an opportunity for us as a workforce to take a step ahead.
“Brooky has an ideal cricket mind, [Joe Root] too, so there’s loads of expertise on the market to bounce just a few concepts off.
“Everyone seems to be fairly clear how they wish to go about this week and the sequence usually.”
Root: Pope won’t let the sport drift
Chatting with Sky Sports activities about Pope’s momentary stint as captain, Stokes’ predecessor as skipper Joe Root stated: “I feel Ollie is a really forward-thinking younger cricketer that has gained an enormous quantity of confidence and expertise during the last couple of years.
Former England captain Joe Root says skippering his nation will probably be a worthwhile expertise for Pope
“He’s well-respected throughout the dressing room and could be very similar-minded to Ben in how he desires to play the sport so I feel it is going to be a seamless transition in some ways.
“I do not suppose he’ll let the sport drift and he’s the type of character that can take the problem head on.
“The best way Ben performs the sport, this might doubtlessly occur once more so I feel it is crucial for us to see what that appears like.
“It isn’t ideally suited. We might love Ben to be on the market as he’s a large a part of all the pieces we do and I am certain he’ll nonetheless have a job to play on this sequence, however pondering means down the road I am certain it is going to be a worthwhile studying expertise.”
‘Potts has bowled his coronary heart out for England’
England have made two adjustments to the XI that accomplished the 3-0 victory over West Indies at Edgbaston final month, with Stokes changed by Durham quick 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 (proper) will play for England in Manchester following the accidents to Zak Crawley and Stokes
Potts’ choice as an alternative of uncapped Essex batter Jordan Cox offers England a protracted tail, with the 25-year-old or Gus Atkinson prone to are available in at No 8 forward of Mark Wooden and Shoaib Bashir.
Pope is assured England will rating the runs required with Chris Woakes, who has been bumped as much as No 7, having registered one century and 7 fifties in his Check profession and Potts notching a maiden County Championship hundred this season.
With the ball in Check cricket, Potts has 23 wickets in six matches – most not too long ago that includes in opposition to Eire in June 2023 – whereas he has struck 21 instances for Durham within the Championship this time period.
Pope stated: “We’ve got received guys who can are available in and rating runs down the order and having three seamers is just not the best ask, so it’s a nice alternative to see Pottsy.
“Every time he has pulled on an England shirt he has not let anybody accomplished. He has bowled his coronary heart out and bowled fantastically.”
Nasser Hussain previews his documentary Cricket in Colombo which will probably be broadcast in the course of the first Check between England and Sri Lanka on Sky Sports activities
Pope: England will not underestimate Sri Lanka
England have received their earlier three Check sequence in opposition to Sri Lanka – two away and one at house – however have been crushed 1-0 again in 2014 when the vacationers adopted a draw at Lord’s with a 100-run victory at Headingley.
Pope added: “We do not underestimate any of the groups that come over right here. Our goal is to win 3-0 however we realise Sri Lanka have gotten some good skilled guys who’ve performed lots of Check matches.
“The primary focus is on ourselves. We’ll simply play our greatest cricket and attempt to placed on a superb efficiency. Hopefully the scoreboard on the finish displays that.”
Lawrence says England’s plans in opposition to Sri Lanka won’t change below Pope
On his plans if the primary Check is weather-affected, Pope stated: “If it rains, it rains. I feel naturally, with the best way the fellows play, we do look to maneuver the sport ahead. If we play nicely, the sport will transfer ahead faster than it may well do at instances.
“If it all of the sudden rains on day three that is one thing that we’d talk about then, however for now the main target is to exit and whether or not it takes us 5 days or nevertheless lengthy, win the sport.”
Stokes’ damage offers Sri Lanka hope
Watch as Stokes is carried off injured throughout The Hundred…
Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva believes Stokes’ damage has given the vacationers recent hope of springing a shock.
De Silva is main his nation’s first Check sequence on these shores since 2016 and heads into the opener with the percentages stacked in opposition to Sri Lanka, who’ve received simply three of their earlier 18 Assessments right here.
“He’s the steadiness of their aspect. He is the important thing participant for them, in terms of bowling, batting, all the pieces,” stated De Silva.
“A brand new man (Dan Lawrence) is available in to play…there will probably be stress on him, coming again into the aspect to open in these circumstances.
“We’ve got high quality seamers in our aspect and we now have a world-class spinner with us (Prabath Jayasuriya). If he comes into the sport within the second innings, we really feel we now have a superb likelihood to win the sport.”
Sri Lanka have handed a debut to tempo bowler Milan Rathnayake and have at their disposal the wild card Kamindu Mendis, an ambidextrous all-rounder who bowls each proper and left-arm finger spin.
Additionally of their ranks is former England batter Ian Bell, with the five-time Ashes winner working as a batting guide.
“He was a high quality participant who performed lots of Check cricket and one-day cricket in England. His factors will probably be worthwhile for us and as a batting unit, we’re all getting ideas from him,” added De Silva.
Watch England’s first Check in opposition to Sri Lanka, from Emirates Outdated Trafford in Manchester, dwell on Sky Sports activities Cricket and Sky Sports activities Essential Occasion from 10am on Wednesday 11am first ball)
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