England’s Test captain Ben Stokes has backed his “under spotlight “second-in-command Ollie Pope after his Trent Bridge century against Zimbabwe.
England won their first game of the summer by an innings and 45 runs against opponents whose resistance only lasted until the third afternoon in Nottingham, with Shoaib Bashir finishing the tourists off with a career-best haul of 6-81.
The game had earlier been set up by a hat-trick of top-order hundreds from Ben Duckett (140), Zak Crawley (124), and Pope (171) – the latter two having faced question marks over their places in the side.
With rising star Jacob Bethell set to return from the IPL in time for next month’s India series, live on Sky Sports Cricket, there was speculation that a change was in the offing.
Stokes inadvertently fuelled that on the eve of the match when he praised Bethell and added, “I think you put two and two together and you probably know what’s going to happen”.
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The best of Ollie Pope’s century as England pile the pressure on Zimbabwe’s bowlers
He has now clarified that he was not promising an instant recall to the XI and suggested Pope was being targeted by critics.
Speaking to the BBC, he explained: “There’s always someone going to be under the spotlight. I’ve personally felt that it was a bit of – not a vendetta – but I got asked a simple question about Bethell.
“I said, ‘put two and two together, he comes back into the squad’ and then all of a sudden it turns into something that suits the agenda of the time.
“It is unfortunate that you say something and it can get twisted. I made it very clear to Popey the night before this Test that is not the case.
“He’s my vice-captain and he’s been incredible for me and the team at number three. I’m very, very pleased for him that he went out there and played the way that he did.”
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England’s Ollie Pope was denied a spectacular catch after Josh Tongue’s foot went over the line and a no-ball was called
Pope was asked by Sky Sports’ Ian Ward on day one of the Test about whether he was worried about his position being under threat, but the vice-captain dismissed those claims too.
“I think we’ve had some good conversations within the camp, and I know where I stand within the hierarchy, which is good,” Pope said.
“The communication is really good and I’ve learnt along the way to not read too much in the media, especially in the lead up to the series, because it doesn’t help me.
“I’m just trying to rock up to each day of cricket and score as many runs as I can and not let that affect the mental side of my game as well.”
