England captain Ollie Pope commended his team’s comprehensive performance after their innings and 47-run victory over Pakistan in Multan. Highlighting the contributions from both the bowlers and batters, Pope reflected on the crucial factors that led to the win. “Credit to the bowlers for the way they went about their stuff on Day 1 and the majority of Day 2. The fitness they showed, and the same with Brook and Root. The way to win this game was to put a mammoth score on the board. It wasn’t just a hundred, but it was 260 and 315 or whatever. Credit to them, obviously the skills they have and the determination to put the team in a winning position. It was awesome,” Pope said in the post-match presentation.

The England skipper acknowledged the strategic importance of their first innings score and how it positioned them advantageously.

“When you bat first and make 550, you think you’re in the driving seat there. But when you come out to bat again, and you’re 260 behind, and the pitch is three days older, it’s never an easy thing to do,” he explained.

Pope also touched on the varied wicket-taking opportunities that the bowlers exploited.

“We had a lot of different wicket-taking opportunities. The odd ball was staying low, the odd ball was reversing and we got the odd ball to spin as well. It’s never an easy position to be in when you’re 260 behind. Even if you bat as well as you can and make 400 in that last innings, we still would’ve backed ourselves and chased 140 or so,” he added.

He praised individual performances, particularly those of the batsmen and debutant Brydon Carse.

“The way the two guys with the big runs played was real credit to them. He obviously got some crucial wickets, set some clever fields and he got batters hitting shots in areas they didn’t want to do. The way Brydon bowled on debut was awesome. Charged in, showed a lot of heart and never complained once,” Pope remarked.

Additionally, Pope highlighted Jack Leach’s impact on his return to the side.

“And Leach. Coming back into the side this week – he’s had some success here before. He’s fit right back into the team. Taken some crucial wickets for us as well,” he noted.

Reflecting on his own performance, Pope remained team-focused.

“That’s the game. I smoked a pull shot straight to midwicket. Unfortunately I was the one to miss out this week but it’s a team game and what matters is that we’re on the right side,” he concluded.

Pope’s comments underline the collective effort and strategic execution that propelled England to their commanding victory over Pakistan.

England vs Sri Lanka 3rd Test, Day 2 LIVE© AFP

Former captain Nasser Hussain thinks Ollie Pope’s appointment as England Test skipper for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka augurs well for the side ahead of the all-important Ashes happening next year in Australia. Pope was made England captain for the Sri Lanka series starting on August 21 as Ben Stokes was ruled out due to a torn hamstring. “I think it’s good for Pope to be captain for three Tests, just in case, Ben Stokes does get injured in the future. They need other options. Just like when they go to Australia, and they don’t want a bowling attack that’s inexperienced. You don’t want to get there with someone (leading) who hasn’t done it before,” said Hussain in the latest episode of Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.

At the same time, Hussain thinks Pope has yet to establish himself as a firm leader in the England Test side. “The feeling with Pope is that it doesn’t come naturally, (whereas) the feeling with Stokes is that cricketing intelligence comes very naturally to him.”

“It feels like he (Pope) was given the vice-captaincy to get him out of that shell, the no. 3 position as well, we believe in you, which I think was the right thing to do. But the other side of that, when you’re captain. You’ve to sell that belief. Sell yourself to the team, your plans.”

Similar views were echoed by former skipper Michael Atherton. “Essentially, you’re in a caretaker position. And Ben Stokes has left such a permanent mark on the side, Ollie Pope wouldn’t want to change that. While you are captain and you make decisions, it’s someone else’s team. It’s a slightly awkward position for him.”

Just like Stokes, England will also be without opener Zak Crawley for the series due to a broken finger. Hussain quipped Test head coach Brendon McCullum would employ innovations in selection, instead of going back to players who have been dropped from the side due to form.

“With this regime, in selection they don’t want to look back, even with their opening combinations. They really don’t want to go back to (Alex) Lees or (Keaton) Jennings or someone, they’re constantly looking forward.”

“They’ll just move up one, (Jamie) Smith can bat a bit higher, (Chris) Woakes can bat a bit higher, and maybe Olly Stone can. They’re (looking for) the younger ones, in the Lions game I noticed the lad Kasey Aldridge. I think that’s someone they maybe keeping an eye on the future. The (Shoaib) Bashir selection. They’ll do left-field selections.”

Atherton stated someone like Dan Lawrence, who will open in Crawley’s absence, will be primed to bring their positive gameplay to the top-order for the upcoming Test series. “Stokes came over and said, ‘When Crawley’s fit, he’ll come back.’ So they don’t want to overcomplicate it.”

“Old-timers like me talk about opening being a specialist position. But they aren’t interested in that, they want a middle-order dasher like Dan Lawrence in that position. And if you said to Dan Lawrence, would you wait on the sidelines or have a crack (at) opening. Then definitely, he’s gonna try and grab that opportunity with both hands.”