England’s Test Team Maintains Stokes Influence, Says Pope

As England gears up for their three-Test series against Sri Lanka, stand-in captain Ollie Pope has emphasized that the team remains fundamentally under Ben Stokes’ influence, despite Stokes’ absence from the field due to a hamstring injury.

Stokes, who sustained the injury while playing for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred, will miss the series but will stay with the squad throughout. Pope, aged 26, is set to lead England as their 82nd Test captain, starting with the first Test at Emirates Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Pope expressed confidence about the situation that, “He leads us and he’s still in the changing room. It’s great to have him around. None of the messages are going to be different; we’re not going to play any differently. I’ll just be getting similar messages across, in my own way.”

The role of England’s Test captain is typically stable, with changes being a rare occurrence. Pope’s appointment marks only the fifth change in leadership since 2009. Historically, England has only once had to use a stand-in captain in the past 177 Tests. In 2020, when Joe Root missed a Test for the birth of his second child, Stokes stepped up, with Root leaving a note instructing him to “do it your way.”

Pope, who has served as Stokes’ deputy for nearly two years, acknowledged the difference in circumstances, saying, “That’s probably the difference—I’ve had no message in my locker, but I’m sat next to him in the changing room. He’s going to let me go do my thing over the course of this series, which is good for me. At the same time, he’s obviously going to be watching, so I can have those conversations in the intervals if I think anything needs to change. It’s only a positive having him around.”

With 46 Tests under his belt and a stint as captain for Surrey in one first-class and eight T20 matches, Pope feels prepared for this new challenge. “Having the vice-captaincy role has given me the opportunity to get my head around it if this opportunity came about,” he noted. “I’ve thought about it on the pitch, watched Stokesy closely in how he manages the bowlers and the way he goes about it in the changing rooms. There are a few little bits I’ll take from him. It’s not a massive issue that I haven’t captained a lot in first-class cricket.”

England will also be without opener Zak Crawley, who fractured a finger during the final day of their 3-0 series win against the West Indies last month. In their absence, Dan Lawrence will take up the opening position, while Matthew Potts has been added as an extra seamer. Harry Brook will step up as Pope’s vice-captain for the series.

England’s last Test at Old Trafford, against Australia last summer, was significantly affected by rain, which hindered their chances of reclaiming the Ashes. The weather forecast for the upcoming Test against Sri Lanka is uncertain, but Pope remains focused on the team’s performance, stating, “I’ve not looked too closely at the weather because if it rains, it rains, but it’s not going to change the way we necessarily go about it.”

Pope set a clear target: “A 3-0 win is always the goal. If we can keep playing our best cricket, like we have, then hopefully we can look back in three or four weeks and that’s the end result. Sri Lanka would have watched us play in the West Indies and will be ready to challenge us. If we play our best cricket, hopefully we can achieve that 3-0.”

Sri Lanka, with former England batter Ian Bell on their coaching staff, will see seamer Milan Rathnayake make his Test debut. Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva believes Stokes’ absence could offer his team a better chance, saying, “He’s the key player for them. We have a good chance. It’s been a long time since we last played here, but we have experienced players. I know the conditions and have an idea of what we need to do. We are going for a win and that is the only thing on my mind.”

On the first day of play, there will be tributes to former England batter Graham Thorpe, who passed away earlier this month at the age of 55. A video tribute will be shown on the screens at the ground, followed by a moment of applause.