‘I learned how I can have my batting and captaincy separate’ – Ollie Pope on performing dual role in Sri Lanka Tests

Ollie Pope. (Photo Source: Philip Brown/Popperfoto/Popperfoto via Getty Images)

Star England batter Ollie Pope explained how he is learning to separate his captaincy duties and batting responsibilities during the ongoing Test series versus Sri Lanka.

Pope is leading England in the three-match Test series in the absence of regular red-ball captain Ben Stokes, who was ruled out due to a hamstring injury suffered during The Hundred. The right-handed batter had a memorable start to his captaincy career, albeit in an interim capacity as the Three Lions beat Sri Lanka by five wickets at Old Trafford, Manchester in the first Test. However, the stand-in captain didn’t have a great outing with the bat as he was dismissed for an identical score of six runs in both innings.

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Pope said that he has learned the art of separating his batting and captaincy responsibilities. The 26-year-old asserted that he is hoping to do well with the bat in the second Test, which begins on Thursday, August 29, at Lord’s.

“I learned how I can have my batting and captaincy separate. For me, it is about as soon as we get off the pitch, drawing a line under that and then focus on batting,” Pope told BBC Sport.

“The runs didn’t come for me, but for the team to get the win, that’s the most important thing. Hopefully, over the next couple of weeks, I can put some good scores together and reward the team with some runs,” he added.

Pope has been Stokes’ deputy for almost two years and got the opportunity to learn the art of captaincy from close quarters. In his quest to balance his batting and captaincy, the Chelsea-born has taken advice from Joe Root, who captained England in 64 Test matches and finished with a batting average of 46.44 while at the helm.

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“It’s nothing massive, but it’s about finding a way to get into your old routine of how you go out and bat. It’s just making sure that I keep doing what has brought success over the last couple of years and having that on repeat. It’s just finding a way to compartmentalise. Chatting to Rooty, he’s obviously got a great cricket brain and is England’s best batter, so we just bounce a few ideas off each other,” Pope stated.