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Senior batter Ollie Pope has been appointed as England's Test captain after regular skipper Ben Stokes was ruled out of the remainder of the home summer with a hamstring injury. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced the decision on Tuesday, August 13.
Stokes copped up a blow on his hamstring while playing for the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred. Further scans revealed that he has torn his hamstring and will miss the rest of the summer. As a result, Pope will lead the team in the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka, starting August 21 in Manchester.
The home series against Sri Lanka will be important for England, given they are placed sixth in the ICC World Test Championship points table. Pope will have to lead the team from the front if they are to jump up in the standings and keep their hope alive of making it to the final.
On that note, let's take a look at three reasons why appointing Ollie Pope as England's Test captain in place of Ben Stokes is the right move.
#1 Heirarchically it is the right move
Ollie Pope has been England's second man in charge for almost 12 months. Thus, it is technically right for him to assume the reins of the Test side in the absence of regular skipper Ben Stokes.
Moreover, being part of the leadership group for over a year, Pope is aware of how the team functions and how the management wants the side to play. Thus, there will be no difficulty in transition and communication between the management led by Brendon McCullum and Pope.
Moreover, it will also be a good learning experience for him given that Stokes is injury-prone and is already approaching the twilight of his career. Pope is touted to be England's next Test captain ahead of the likes of Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, and Dan Lawrence. So, the series against Sri Lanka would help the management prepare him for the future.
#2 Ollie Pope has been in good form
The Surrey cricketer has been one of the bright spots in what has been an otherwise tainted World Test Championship campaign for England. The right-handed batter has amassed 644 runs in 10 matches at an average of 35, including two fifties and as many centuries.
Pope also looked in good form during England's last Test assignment against the West Indies, scoring a hundred and two fifties in three games.
Thus, it is wise for the ECB to appoint Pope as skipper ahead of any new cricketer or an out-of-form player. Being in excellent form will also help Pope inspire his teammates as they desperately look for a series victory against the Lankans.
#3 Has led Surrey previously
Ollie Pope has led his County side Surrey previously in a game against Glamorgan. He also led Surrey in a few games in the T20 Blast and captained a couple of warm-up games during their 2023 pre-Ashes warm-up tour in the absence of Ben Stokes.
While this is not significant enough to show his credibility, most of England's successful Test captains didn't come in with much experience. For instance, Michael Vaughan didn't lead Yorkshire when he took over the England reins in 2003. Joe Root captained Yorkshire for only four matches, while Stokes and Sir Alastair Cook had never led Durham and Essex, respectively, before taking over the England job.
However, Pope's previous experiences of leading a team could come in handy when he comes out for the toss against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford on August 21.
