Stepping in for the injured Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope has led England to two wins in two Tests against Sri Lanka, at Old Trafford and Lord’s. At the same time, his form with the bat has come under scrutiny.

From 10 Tests in 2024, he has 584 runs at 32.44. He has hit two hundreds and two fifties in 18 innings, but has reached 25 only once more. Even that does not look too poor when pitted against his form in the ongoing series, where he has made only 30 runs in four innings, raising speculations that captaincy might have affected his batting.

Pope: Not going to hide behind the fact that I’ve had two poor games with the bat

However, as he elaborated after the second Test, he is not overly concerned about his form: “I’m not going to put down my average shot to the fact that I was captain. I’ll learn from it and move on, but I think I’ve managed my own game better throughout this match.

“The second innings was slightly different (he top-edged an uppercut), because we were really trying to push the game forward, but I was very disappointed with the shot I played in the first innings so early on.

“I’m not going to hide behind the fact that I’ve had two poor games with the bat. That’s the way cricket is sometimes and form comes and goes. But I think the best players are the ones who can draw a line under it and have a fresh start next week. Hopefully, I can put a score together.

“The last two games I’ve had, they're learning games for me. It definitely is something that I'm still trying to improve in my game, and obviously the way that I start my innings especially is something that I want to keep on improving. And then when I do get in, it’s trying to cash in as well."

Pope on criticism: Everyone's entitled to their opinion

Pope is also keen to rise above the criticism ahead of the third Test and focus on the game instead: “I’m not surprised [at the criticism]. Chatting to Stokesy before this series [I figured out] when you’re captain as well, you're going to attract a lot more.

“To be honest, it is just important to block it out and keep staying close with the people around you. There’s a lot of voices, a lot of guys who want to have their say – some past cricketers as well – and that’s completely fine. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, but it’s important for us as a team and me to stay and keep trusting the people in the four walls, because that’s not going to help me get back into my best form.

“Sometimes, when you have two bad games, it can feel a lot worse than it is because of the noise that’s surrounding it. For me, it’s just trying to stay as level as I can and keep on trusting the people around me, putting my work in, and not really overthinking it, to be honest. When I went and made good runs in that West Indies series, that's exactly what I was playing like, so there's no real need for me to get too involved in what people are saying.”

Pope has sought advice from former captain Joe Root, whose two hundreds at Lord’s made him to the top of the list of most Test hundreds for England: “Any batter in England can learn a fair bit off him. Form is something that comes and goes. For me, it’s not overthinking it, keep training hard, and going into the next game, it’s a completely fresh week, a fresh start.”

Pope also spoke about returning to The Oval, the home ground of his county side, Surrey: “Obviously it’s a great place to bat. It’s always special getting back to The Oval, where I've played all my county cricket, so hopefully there will be a great crowd in. Everyone will be excited to get to The Oval."

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