England Captain Ollie Pope ahead of the second test against Sri Lanka

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England Captain Ollie Pope ahead of the second test against Sri Lanka  28/08/2024  Lord's Cricket Ground, London, UK

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00:00No, not at all. He's obviously had a tough time and had injuries. Unfortunately, fast

00:25bowlers can just game, especially when they bowl up to 90 miles an hour. So just really

00:30excited for Ollie to get the opportunity to pull that shirt back on. I know how hard it's

00:34worked and I know how hard it is being injured for such a long period of time. So it kind

00:39of gives you a bit of perspective on things and I'm just excited to be out on the pitch

00:43with him and obviously he's an exciting bowler who can bowl at good pace and with good skills

00:47as well.

00:48We'll see this week. I played recently with him in the 100 for London Spirit and he bowled

00:57at some really good pace. So, yeah, fingers crossed. I mean, Woody's clocking 97, so if

01:04he does get there then fair play. But no, I'm sure he'll be pushing the speed right

01:09up there and creating some good challenges for their buddies.

01:12We've been watching Ben Stokes again batting in the nets. He was saying that the transition

01:16to you as captain went seamlessly. Is that how you felt and how are you feeling about

01:21getting some runs here at Lourdes?

01:23Yeah, I think it's obviously different captaining for the first time. It's obviously a fresh

01:27start for me and it just had a slightly different feel when it's the first time you do it, almost

01:34like that kind of debut feeling again. But at the same time, I really enjoyed the week.

01:39Obviously the runs didn't translate for me, but yeah, hopefully over the next two weeks

01:42I can put aside my captaining when it's time to focus on my batting and then score some

01:49good runs for the team.

01:50Just finally for me, Dawoud Mellam has just confirmed his international retirement. One

01:54of only two players to have scored centuries in all three formats. What kind of tribute

01:57would you pay to him?

01:58Yeah, I think he's obviously such a highly skilled batter and he obviously feels now

02:03is obviously the right time for him to step away from the international cricket and enjoy

02:09some more cricket, I'm sure, coming up. But no, he's had a top career obviously in Ashes

02:13100, away from home. It's something very special and to do it in all three formats, like you

02:16said, there's not many of them who have done that. So no, he's obviously got a lot to be

02:20proud of.

02:22Oliver, there you were, living through a really gripping Test match at Old Trafford. You talked

02:26to all of us about that and you come here, you're trying to work on your batting, think

02:30about your strategy, talking to us again. It's a different kind of feeling, isn't it,

02:34when you're the captain going in this intense kind of Test match. I wonder how you keep

02:38your energy going?

02:39Yeah, I think it is different. Like I said, I really enjoyed last week. Obviously the

02:45runs didn't come for me, but for the team to get the win, that's the most important

02:49thing. I think the first time you do anything like that, I remember, like I said, I almost

02:53compared it to another debut. I remember after my Test debut, after day one, I was just knackered

02:59and we barely did anything. I think we fielded for a few overs. So it's good to get that

03:05first one out of the way and get that first win on the board. Like I said, it's just about

03:09having the two things separate. I've obviously got time in the nets where you can go work

03:14on your game, but then as soon as you're back in the changing room, you can go and be the

03:18captain and the leader again there. That's something that I've spoken to someone like

03:22Joe Root about as well. Obviously a very, very successful England captain who obviously

03:27did Joe Root things with the bat throughout. Hopefully, like I said, over the next couple

03:33of weeks, I can go and put some good scores together for the team. But yeah, I think the

03:38first one was probably a bit of learning for me into how to manage the two things separately.

03:42But it can also be a positive as well. I think engaging your brain while you're in the field

03:47into sort of field placings and what bowlers to use and when can also, over the course

03:52of the next two games, potentially be a positive as well. So I don't see it as a negative on

03:56my batting. Obviously it's two more weeks of it. So it's not like I'm staring down the

04:02barrel of some long fatigue. It's something that I've really enjoyed so far. So yeah,

04:06hopefully I can, like I said, reward the runs with some team this week and next week as

04:09well.

04:10Absolutely. You mentioned Joe Root there and he does feel like a constant in this team.

04:14I think it's down to four players now here who were playing in the last test of the last

04:19summer. I mean, there's lots of reasons for that turnover. I wonder the challenge of keeping

04:23the continuity of the philosophy in the team when the personnel are changing so much?

04:29Yeah, I think we obviously have made some slight adjustments. There's obviously been

04:33a couple of injuries as well, obviously with Stokes and Zach up top. And they're just unfortunate

04:39injuries that happen. But at the same time, it's a great opportunity for other guys to

04:43come in and get a go that they deserve and have earned as well. And I think obviously

04:49with what Brendan did leading into this summer, he made some pretty brutal changes that he

04:57saw that are going to take the team into a better place getting forward. And I think

05:01we showed last week, I know we don't use the term baseball, but we played a different style

05:07of cricket. And I think that's something that can keep taking us forward as a team. And

05:12when we can be ruthless, we've got to try and be ruthless just to win as many games

05:17as possible. And other days we'll go out and score a little bit more freely and potentially

05:20take the wickets in a shorter amount of time. So I think it's a credit to the guys that

05:26have come in. Obviously, Jamie Smith as well, the way he played in both innings is a credit

05:32to him and shows that we're really taking this team forward now.

05:36Right, just finally from me, I just wanted to mention Sri Lanka because I think they

05:40played seriously well in Old Trafford. I think it felt to me watching that maybe this was

05:44a step up compared to the three Test matches you had at the start of the summer. And they'll

05:48be confident now and they've got perhaps the weather they enjoy. It's a serious challenge

05:52against this Sri Lankan team, aren't they?

05:54Yeah, absolutely. I think we don't take any team lightly. Even that West Indies series,

05:59there were days in which they had really good days and I guess we're neck and neck almost

06:04after two days. And we managed to play the slightly better cricket over the course of

06:09the five days in each of the Test matches. So I think that's good that we're getting

06:12pushed. And like you said, Sri Lanka were impressive last week. I think especially the

06:17way they batted. I guess when you come to England, you expect different conditions and

06:21I guess the conditions weren't your classic English-style pitches, but at the same time

06:25for the guys to go and put together some good scores and set us a chase from 100 deficits,

06:31credit to them as well. But I think, yeah, hopefully we can just keep getting better

06:36and I'm sure that they'll be confident and they'll feel strong. But if we can play our

06:41best cricket, hopefully come out on the right side of the result again.

06:46You mentioned that you really enjoyed getting stuck in the captaincy. I was just wondering

06:51what bits you really enjoy and what bits you maybe not enjoy so much?

06:55I wouldn't say there's firstly nothing I didn't enjoy about it. It's just different. Like

07:00I said, rather than worrying about your catching and some ideas for Stokes, you've got a lot

07:07more to think about. So that's the different side of things. I wouldn't say I didn't enjoy

07:11it at all. And I think, yeah, just the challenge of trying to work with the bowlers to take

07:1520 wickets in the Test match on a pitch that I guess once the ball got past 15, 20 overs

07:20was fairly unresponsive off the pitch. So I enjoyed the challenge of that and enjoyed

07:27using my cricket brain to try and help the team get those 20 wickets. And I think credit

07:34to the bowlers for how they bowled and stuck to the plans. And like I said, I've got some

07:38good guys to lean on in that changing room and on the pitch to help me out when I'm out

07:43there. So yeah, I'd like obviously some more runs over the course of the series. But yeah,

07:48hopefully that's something that's going to come this week and next.

07:50Does it give you more appetite to do it in future, if not for England, but for other

07:55teams as well?

07:56Yeah, I'm always keen on sort of standing up and being a leader for whatever team I

08:01do play for. So yeah, like I said, this is still Stokes' team, but it's a great experience

08:07for me to hopefully do really well over the course of this series and also learn some

08:12lessons and have some time for reflection after. So yeah, I enjoy being a leader within

08:16the changing room and using my cricket brain when I need to as well.

08:19Olly, how encouraging has it been to see Ben Stokes back in the nets over the past couple

08:24of days?

08:25Yeah, it's been good. He's obviously pretty keen to... I mean, he wishes he was out there.

08:31But no, it's a good sign going forward. He's obviously still a fair while away off playing

08:35and he's not trying to play as a batter in the first slip just yet anyway. So no, but

08:39it's great to see. And injuries are never ideal, but there are also great chances for

08:45people to keep improving their game and have a little bit of time of reflection and think

08:50about what he can work on in his game. And I'm sure that's exactly what he's doing in

08:53the nets and going into, I guess, that Pakistan series and then into New Zealand, he's going

08:58to be as fresh as anyone. So it's good to see.

09:01I think Zac was here yesterday as well. Is it sort of a conscious thing to try and keep

09:04injured guys around the squad so they keep a bit of a feel of things?

09:08Yeah, absolutely. I guess it's great to have those guys around. Obviously, Stokes is around

09:13for the series and to see Zac yesterday. I mean, I know he's gutted. He's not here playing

09:18in these test matches, but for him to pop in and catch up with the guys is great. And

09:22it's good to, it kind of shows where we're at as a squad and how we're a tight-knit unit

09:26and we want to keep driving that forward because I think that helps us on the pitch as well.

09:30You mentioned you'd asked Joe about advice on captaining and batting. What did he say?

09:40We just spoke about how it is more taxing in the field, but it's just finding a little

09:45routine and doing small, certain things, which it's nothing massive. Just finding a way just

09:52to, I guess, once you do get your pads on and sit there waiting to bat, it's just trying

09:56to get into your old routine of how you do go out and bat and people do different things

10:03before they bat. Some watch, some don't and those kind of things. So it's just making

10:07sure that I just keep doing what has brought success for me over the last couple of years

10:13and just having that on repeat. You might be a bit fatigued, but I think it's only a

10:21positive as well. Like I said, it's not going to be, we've got two more weeks of the series,

10:26so it's not like I'm saying I'm fatigued about it, but it's just finding a way to compartmentalise

10:32the two and trying to routine. He's obviously got a great cricket brain and England's best

10:36batter, so we just bounce off a few ideas off each other. You're only doing the job for a

10:40short amount of time. I'm not asking if you want to do it in the long term, but what is

10:44your perspective of people who do this full time? Have you been able to switch off? Have

10:52you been able to sleep well? Can you imagine what it must be like to be England captain?

10:57Yeah, I think that's probably the important thing and I think you get it as your career

11:03goes on. I think for Test cricketers, what I struggled with early in my career, I guess I

11:10had a pretty average first probably 20 odd games and I probably struggled getting away from the

11:17game a little bit too much. I was pretty young and trying to find my way and I was really eager

11:25to be successful and to put winning contributions towards the team. So I think that probably got a

11:31little bit too much for me at the time when I was younger. So I think now as a Test cricketer,

11:37I've learned and I think in this environment as well, it's a lot easier to find ways to switch

11:42off and to freshen up. You might have that slight bit of more fatigue being captain and being

11:46captain of your side, but I guess it goes back to those same strategies of finding a way to get

11:50away from the game and really making the most of your time off. Because you know, once you're in

11:54the mix of it, it's going to be fairly tiring. So yeah, it just puts a bit more emphasis on the

12:00time where you can actually get away from cricket and not even think about it for a couple of weeks.

12:07Yeah, Sri Lanka coming after you lost and you are one up in the series. So loads is to be

12:14much good for them as far as you're concerned about the past track record. So do you have any

12:22new plans against them or stick to the same basics that you had on the All-Traffic?

12:28Yeah, no, I wouldn't say there's any specific plans. It's somewhere where we played a fair

12:33bit of cricket and had some decent success over the last couple of years.

12:39But I don't think the venue necessarily makes too much of a difference for us.

12:43We just try and play our best cricket and go out and try and take 20 wickets and get as many

12:49runs and try and keep it as simple as we can over the week that's coming up. So if we can

12:54play our best cricket, like I said, hopefully come outside on the right side of the result.

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