England will start their Sri Lanka from today, Ollie Pope will be starting his new phase as a captain in the absence of Ben Stokes. England will be aiming to clinch this series too.
Will England cost badly in the absence of Ben Stokes? Or will they continue with the same intention? Sri Lanka will also try to give their best considering their recent form against India.
Ollie Pope feels he may perform well as captain
Ollie Pope will be leading the team for the Sri Lanka series, Ben Stokes has been ruled out from the series. Ollie Pope is confident enough to lead the team however some butterflies would be there before entering the ground. Ollie Pope has a great record for England and now this responsibility will be even more challenging. Ollie Pope said:
“I am sat next to [Stokes] in the changing room and it will be great to have him around. If I want to lean on him I can, but I think he will let me do my own thing. He has said he is happy to do that. He will be watching and chatting with Baz [Test coach Brendon McCullum] so I can have those conversations in the intervals if I think something needs to change.”
“I know how well he has managed our bowlers especially, so I have picked his brains on it, but it will be a lot of the same messages with a different voice and in my way. It’s about not overcomplicating it for me. I think I read the game fairly well and Stokesy and I have often been of the same mindset. As the series goes on, it will let itself out for me. It is still Stokesy’s team. Everyone is pretty clear how they want to go about this week and the series in general.”
“We don’t underestimate any of the teams that come over here. Our target is to win 3-0 but we realize Sri Lanka has got some good experienced guys who have played a lot of Test matches. The main focus is on ourselves. We will just play our best cricket and try and put on a good performance. Hopefully, the scoreboard at the end reflects that.”
England will aim to white-wash this series too, recently they annihilated West Indies by 3-0.