Ollie Pope as Captain of England

Ollie Pope has stepped into the captaincy role for England, leading the team against Sri Lanka in home matches and in the Multan Test against Pakistan. While he shows promising leadership qualities, certain decisions he’s made have raised concerns.

Pope’s temperament is solid; he remains composed under pressure. However, some of his tactical choices have been questionable. For instance, in the Multan Test, Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi and Abdullah Shafiq forged a 90-plus run partnership for the ninth wicket. During that phase, Pope’s leadership seemed directionless. There didn’t appear to be a clear plan to break the partnership.

A key example was his decision to have a fielder positioned against Afridi, a known big hitter. Given Afridi’s ability to send any delivery sailing over the boundary, Pope could have positioned his fielders more effectively.

Another area of concern is his use of reviews. Pope has made 13 reviews as captain, all of which have been unsuccessful. Each time he takes a review, it feels as though he’s hoping for luck rather than acting with conviction.

While his aggressive approach reflects a desire to keep his team on the front foot, there seems to be a lack of clear strategy behind some of these decisions.

The Multan pitch was flat and didn’t offer much for bowlers, making wicket-taking a challenge. In this situation, Pope had support from the likes of Joe Root and Harry Brook, both of whom bring experience and leadership skills. However, Pope himself still appears unsettled in the captaincy role.

It’s also evident that the pressure of leadership has affected Pope’s batting. His performance with the bat seems to have dipped since taking on captaincy duties. While he is undoubtedly talented—having played as both a batsman and a wicketkeeper—perhaps Pope would be better suited focusing solely on his batting. Leadership may not be his strongest suit at this point.

In fairness, it’s understandable why Pope was given the captaincy after leading the team against Sri Lanka. However, being a captain, especially at the international level, is incredibly demanding. Joe Root’s resurgence as a player after relinquishing the captaincy shows how freeing it can be to focus on one’s game without the weight of leadership.

Ollie Pope is trying hard to fit into the role, but so far, it doesn’t seem to be working in his favor.