When Ollie Pope steps out as England captain against Sri Lanka on Wednesday in Manchester, he will know he has a tough role to follow. And that is an understatement.
Ben Stokes is undoubtedly an important player, just look at how his absence affects the balance of the team. With the selectors failing to bring in a replacement all-rounder, they now have to decide whether to go for an extra batsman or bowler.
But as captain, he has been one of England’s best. I remember looking out at the team from the media centre at Lord’s during his first match as full-time captain, in 2022, and thinking straight away: this kid gets it all.
I learned from several captains during my time there: Keith Fletcher taught me a lot in tactical terms, while Graham Gooch, Mike Atherton and Alec Stewart showed me that you can lead from the front. They inspired their team-mates, especially with their runs.
But the instinct for the game is almost innate, and Stokes clearly has it. It will be fascinating to watch Pope do his job over the next few weeks and find out if he is of the same style.
Ollie Pope has the chance of a lifetime to establish himself as Ben Stokes’ long-term successor
Stokes, who was injured while playing for the Northern Superchargers, has an innate feel for the game.
The Pope has to be himself and lead from the front without rocking the boat too much.
After the series against Sri Lanka, England will have a better idea of their future beyond Stokes. The future will depend on Pope’s performance.
The answer at the moment is that we simply don’t know, but then again we didn’t know much about Stokes before he took over. Former manager Trevor Bayliss used to be mocked when he said he would make a good captain, but subsequent events have proved him entirely right. Now is Pope’s chance to put any doubts to rest – and there always are.
England were never going to go for someone who wanted to change course 15 months before the Ashes final. Pope is someone they have supported in difficult times, and giving him the vice-captaincy was part of making him feel integral to the team. He is not going to tear Bazball apart or insist on bringing back players England have discarded.
And Stokes himself knows from personal experience that temporarily taking over as captain is not a good way to make changes. He took charge in a Test match against the West Indies at Southampton in 2020, when Joe Root was on paternity leave, and never thought about making any tactical or strategic changes.
But Pope will have three games under his belt and planning ahead is also important. Yes, England want to use this summer to get some wins against West Indies and Sri Lanka after a tough result in India, but they have also spoken openly about the possibility of fielding a team for The Ashes.
And what if Stokes, who has a history of injuries, gets hurt on the first day at the Gabba and the armband is handed to a guy with no leadership experience at all? That’s why Pope should use these three games to find out what kind of captain he is and wants to be. Think of it as an investment in the future.
He will not need any encouragement to stick with the aggressive pace England have chosen. In fact, he may at times go a little overboard in an attempt to prove to Brendon McCullum that he is up to the task. He will learn from those moments too.
But the most important thing for me will be the races he makes in the number 3, which will not only allow him to lead from the front, like Gooch, Atherton and Stewart, but also to secure a place that is not yet assured.
He has had a brilliant innings, including the 196 he scored in Hyderabad to help England win their first Test in India earlier this year. And he scored a fine century against the West Indies at Trent Bridge last month.
If Stokes is injured at the Gabba, England will need someone with experience to step up.
I wonder if Pope will go too far in trying to prove his worth to coach Brendon McCullum.
He can’t afford to be everyone’s best friend because he needs to make ruthless decisions.
One moment you have to put your arm around a rookie and the next you have to be brutal enough to tell a legend his career is over (Jimmy Anderson pictured)
But his batting remains frenetic. He can look excellent in one innings and rough in the next. His average in Tests after 46 games is 35, which is decent but leaves room for improvement. If he can score loads of runs against Sri Lanka, the captaincy will become much easier for him.
He will also have to take into account the shift in emphasis when moving from the ranks to leadership. When I did my Secrets of Success series on leadership for Sky, Jurgen Klopp told me he tried to see himself as a friend to the Liverpool players, but not their best friend. That sums up captaincy – it is not a popularity contest, tempting though it may be.
Look at Stokes. You have to have the empathy to put your arm around Tom Hartley or Shoaib Bashir on their debuts in India, but also the cruelty to tell Jimmy Anderson that his career is over. You can’t have the second half if you’re everyone’s best friend.
Now, I have never heard anyone in the dressing room say a bad word about Pope, which is great. But he will find moments where he has to find the right balance: he may have to make a difficult decision against Sri Lanka and that will be – more than anything – the moment to find out his approach.
Empathy can manifest itself in many ways. When I took up the post, some considered me a bit anti-establishment. One member of the Essex committee said to me: “Good luck with that.” You could say that some people were surprised.
But my position as an outsider and a slightly anxious cricketer helped me understand why, say, Andrew Caddick was nervous on the first morning of a Test, or Graham Thorpe turned up at an official function wearing the wrong trousers, or Phil Tufnell turned up late for training.
Not everyone saw the game that way. I remember once asking Gooch how he managed to control his nerves and he looked at me as if I had two heads. Fair enough: Gooch didn’t get nervous, which helped him become a great cricketer.
For me, captaincy worked best if I didn’t adopt a “one size fits all” attitude, and Pope will have to figure out how to apply that to the team he temporarily inherits. In that sense, he couldn’t have had a better mentor than Stokes.
Mail Sport columnist Nasser Hussain has offered the Pope a plan for a temporary captaincy
England will face Sri Lanka in three Test matches in late August and early September.
Above all, Pope needs to win the series against Sri Lanka to really make a mark as captain.
Assuming Stokes recovers before the trip to Pakistan, Pope has three matches to prove his worth.
I wish Pope all the best in his fight against Sri Lanka. He may do such a good job that the debate over who will take over once Stokes steps down may come to a quick conclusion. Succession planning may be sorted out.
But England will know there is no need to be rigid. They know that having the vice-captaincy now does not guarantee the captaincy in the future.
And for that reason, I’d say Harry Brook is also someone to keep an eye on. From a small sample of this year’s Hundreds, where he’s been in charge of Northern Superchargers, I like what I’ve seen.
Stokes has joked about his lack of academic intelligence, but it’s clear he’s got a good cricket brain. He’s a bit of a mongrel, and I mean that in a good way. If he turns up at the toss and can’t remember his team, that doesn’t bother me: it means he’s just focusing on the basic message that his team needs to play good cricket, and isn’t worrying about the details.
I remember him walking past me on the Pakistan tour two years ago after one of his hundreds of hits and saying matter-of-factly, “I love hitting.” He’s a guy who doesn’t complicate the game and it will be interesting to see how he develops as a leader when he takes on more responsibility.
For the moment, though, this is Ollie Pope’s time. Assuming Stokes recovers from his hamstring injury in time for the trip to Pakistan in October, Pope has three games to prove he can be a natural replacement when the time comes for England to make a long-term decision.
The series will give Pope the opportunity of a lifetime, but he has to be himself during the games.
He needs to be himself, lead from the front with runs and remember that tough decisions may have to come before friendship. And he needs to keep the Bazball show going. Above all, he needs to show Sri Lanka the respect they deserve and win the series. This is the chance of a lifetime.
By the end, England should have a better idea of what will happen if Stokes suffers a sore hamstring on the first morning of the Ashes in a packed Brisbane.