England still Stokes’ team, says stand-in skipper Pope

MANCHESTER: Ollie Pope says England are still Ben Stokes’ team, despite the batter taking charge for the three-Test series against Sri Lanka.

Regular captain Stokes misses out after injuring his hamstring playing for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred. Pope, 26, will become England men’s 82nd Test captain in the first Test at Emirates Old Trafford on Wednesday, but Stokes is remaining with the squad throughout the series.

“He leads us and he’s still in the changing room,” Pope told BBC Sport. “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 England Test captaincy seldom changes hands. Pope will become only the fifth man to take the job since 2009. England rarely need stand-ins, either. Only once in England’s past 177 Tests has the regular captain missed out, when Joe Root was at the birth of his second child in 2020.

On that occasion Stokes stepped in, with Root leaving a note telling him to “do it your way”. Surrey’s Pope continued: “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.” Pope has played 46 Tests and been Stokes’ deputy for almost two years. He steps up to lead England despite only previously skippering Surrey in one first-class and eight T20 matches.