Nasser Hussain thinks Ollie Pope’s appointment as Test captain for Sri Lanka series augurs well for England

NEW DELHI: Former England captain Nasser Hussain believes that Ollie Pope's appointment as the England Test captain for the series against Sri Lanka is a beneficial move for the team, especially with the Ashes in Australia coming next year.

Pope steps in as captain starting August 21, replacing Ben Stokes, who is sidelined 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.

However, Hussain also pointed out that Pope has not yet firmly established himself as a 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.”

Former captain Michael Atherton echoed similar sentiments about the caretaker nature of Pope's position. “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.”

England will also be missing opener Zak Crawley for the series due to a broken finger. Hussain commented that head coach Brendon McCullum would likely employ innovative selection methods rather than revert to players previously dropped 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.”