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    Pope turns to Root for an advice
Pope turns to Root for an advice
Joe Root. Source: reddit.com

Pope turns to Root for an advice

With Ben Stokes sidelined, Ollie Pope has turned to Joe Root for advice on how to juggle the responsibilities of batting and captaincy, following a challenging debut as England's stand-in skipper against Sri Lanka. In his first of three matches filling in for the injured Stokes, Pope led England to a five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka at Old Trafford, giving them a 1-0 lead in the series. However, Pope, batting at No. 3, struggled personally, scoring just six runs in each innings, including an ill-timed reverse sweep that led to his second dismissal.

Even in Stokes' absence, the England squad benefits from the experience of Joe Root, who captained the team in a record 64 Tests from 2017 to 2022. During his tenure, the 33-year-old Yorkshireman managed to score 14 centuries, despite often leading a struggling side.

As England prepares for the second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's, Pope has sought Root's wisdom on how to maintain his form with the bat while shouldering the captaincy duties. "I really enjoyed the week," Pope shared during a pre-match press conference on Wednesday. "The runs didn’t come for me, but I hope over the next two weeks I can separate my captaincy responsibilities from my batting and focus better on my game."

Pope acknowledged the importance of compartmentalising the two roles, something Root has excelled at. "It's more taxing in the field, but it's about finding a little routine and doing small things," Pope explained. "I've talked with Rooty, who has a great cricket brain and is England’s best batter. We bounced a few ideas off each other."

Since the partnership of Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, England has become known for its aggressive style, especially when batting. However, Root's composed 62 off 128 balls, featuring just two boundaries, anchored England's chase of 205 at Old Trafford on a slow pitch, demonstrating that there are multiple ways to secure a win.

"We don’t use the term 'Bazball,' but we played a different style of cricket at Old Trafford, and that’s something that can keep pushing us forward as a team," Pope said. "When we can be ruthless, we’ve got to try and be ruthless to win as many games as possible," added the 26-year-old Surrey batsman.

Stokes, though back in the nets, is still not ready for competitive action following a hamstring tear earlier this month in The Hundred. Pope, however, remains optimistic about Stokes' fitness for the post-season tours of Pakistan and New Zealand.

"Injuries are never ideal, but they also offer a great chance for players to improve and reflect on what they can work on," Pope noted. "I’m sure that’s what Stokes is doing in the nets. Heading into the Pakistan series and then New Zealand, he’s going to be as fresh as anyone."

 

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