England stand-in preparing to “do things my way” while still following Ben Stokes’ lead
Vithushan Ehantharajah20-Aug-2024The blazer Ollie Pope will don for Wednesday’s toss at Emirates Old Trafford ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka was tailored when he became England vice-captain at the start of the 2023 summer.Since then, it has been travelling around with team manager Wayne Bentley, who measured it up initially. This week, it will finally come into Pope’s sartorial rotation. “Luckily it fits,” England’s 82nd men’s Test captain beamed. “I’ve not put on too much weight.”Like Stokes, Pope opted against a photoshoot in his new garms. Stokes has always been reticent to pose in it believing it gives off the impression of being above your players. Pope’s reasons, while similarly aligned, are as much to do with just getting on with the job at hand – regardless of how grand a job it may be.Related
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A country that has had six prime ministers in the last decade is about to see only its fourth Test captain in that time. But while Pope’s occupation of the role will be Liz Truss in length, he will seek to maintain a much healthier status quo.Nevertheless, it is a peculiar situation. When Stokes had his first taste of captaincy during the first Test of the 2020 Covid summer, Joe Root, absent for the birth of his second child, left a note on his peg saying “Do it your way”. This time, the “absentee” captain will be present throughout, on hand to advise on how best to do it the way it still be done.Stokes was in Monday morning’s huddle, stood opposite his stand-in as Pope addressed the group on the outfield ahead of training. As openly as this has all been handled, and as unavoidable as this situation is, it is hard not to shake the sense Pope is housesitting while the landlord takes on a peeping brief.”We’ve already spoken about this and he’s pretty clear that he wants me to go out and do my thing, my own way,” Pope said when asked if there was a danger of backseat captaincy from Stokes. Barring a high-profile entry to the ground on Monday dressed like an extra from Top Gun, Stokes will strive to be a peripheral figure so Pope can fashion his own path, even if it does need to lead to a previously agreed-upon destination.Ollie Pope, England’s stand-in captain, heads out to bat in the nets•Getty ImagesThis, really, is the start of Pope’s journey as a leader. By his own recollection, he was never talked up as captaincy material during his rise through the systems of Cranleigh School, Surrey and England age-groups. Even the FEC (Future England Captain) tag often pinned on of his ilk was only bestowed upon him as an 18-year-old by a county team-mate. “I think Scott Borthwick was the first one to say it to me,” he recalled in his first captain’s press conference on Tuesday. “And I just shook it off.””It’s funny he’s remembered that,” Borthwick told ESPNcricinfo. The Durham captain’s stint at Surrey between 2016 and 2020 spanned the emergence and establishment of Pope. But what, exactly, during this period prompted Borthwick to dub Pope an “FEC” when more familiar observers had not?”The coach at the time, Michael Di Venuto, at the start or the end of the day, he used to almost pick on the youngsters; he used to say ‘give me your analysis of the day?’ or ‘what do you think the plans are’.”He used to pick on Popey quite a bit because I think he knew Popey’s knowledge of the game was really good for a young kid. He was encouraging him to speak in front of the group and to pass on his information. Diva could sense there was a leader in there.”And we had some big personalities in the side as well. It’s not easy as a young kid to give your opinion, and he did it with such assurance and maturity. His knowledge of the game was very, very good.”He spoke really well as a young kid in the dressing room. When a captain or a coach asks you for your opinion, sometimes you can second guess your opinion. Popey always had a good idea of [what had gone on in] the day. So, naturally, I would just call him ‘FEC’ and we’d joke about that.”Borthwick is bemused he was the first to label Pope as such. As it happens, Borthwick boasts a strong association with England Test captains having acted as Stokes’ best man. “The other one I called FEC was Jamie Smith,” he said. “But we can have that conversation in a few years.”
“He spoke really well as a young kid in the dressing room. When a captain or a coach asks you for your opinion, sometimes you can second guess your opinion. Popey always had a good idea of the day”Scott Borthwick on Pope as a future captain
Others at Surrey talk similarly of Pope. Even as a young upstart, he was always an independent thinker with a knack for sharp problem-solving. It is most evident in his batting, both in those formative years – specifically an exceptional 2018 summer which resulted in the first of those 46 Test caps – and his outrageous century in Hyderabad at the start of 2024. But it also comes through with his everyman qualities in the dressing room.That adaptation and feel for the game came to the fore during an eight-game stint as Surrey’s Vitality Blast captain earlier this summer, guiding them through to the knockout stages. “It’s a bit of a crash course,” said Pope of the experience.He was initially taken aback by the speed of decision-making required in the field, and was stung in his first outing against Hampshire when he had to operate with five in the ring for the final over because he had missed the cut-off time. He did not make that mistake again.”He did say it took a couple of games to get used to the pace a little bit because it is so fast-moving. But he was very relaxed,” said Smith, Pope’s Surrey and now England team-mate (and Borthwick’s other FEC).”He brought a great calmness to the group, which is never easy in T20 and especially at Surrey with the personnel you’ve got. It does feel like the game is moving at a thousand miles per hour, whether you are batting, bowling or fielding because of the quality there is.”He has great composure and I feel like he settled the side really nicely and brought along a good group that was very successful in the group stages.”Even with a caretaker brief, Pope has identified areas to influence. The performances of Mark Wood and Shoaib Bashir this summer are examples to him of the need to cultivate the right in-game environments to bring the best out of his new charges. “Since being vice [captain] I’ve watched Stokesy closely on the pitch, the way he’s managed his bowlers. That’s probably been the main thing for me, being aware that this opportunity might come about.”Going by the last two days, Pope has also seemingly handed short leg duties to moonlighting opener Dan Lawrence, who has been working on his close-catching. Like Stokes, Pope may seek to run the show from mid-off.”For me, I knew this day might come if Stokesy missed a game through injury or had something away from cricket. So, I’ve kind of prepared myself mentally for this and how I want to go about things on the pitch especially. I wouldn’t see it as a negative at all.”And yet, as Pope embarks on the job of a lifetime with such clarity, it is hard not to sympathise with him. Not only is this not “his” team, but it belongs to someone many regard as England’s greatest-ever captain – who, just like the rest of the world, will be watching on intently.Wednesday brings a unique, awkward pressure for Pope. And by the end of this series, we will find out if the blazer still fits.