by It was only after beating Pakistan in Rawalpindi in late 2022, the closest challenger to England’s victory in Hyderabad, that Ollie Pope emerged publicly as a potential vice-captain for Ben Stokes. Stokes had no official replacement at the time but Pope was down front if the bug sweeping through camp kept the captain from playing.
Eyebrows were raised. After all, they make for a very contrasting pair of cricketers in the background: a hyperactive, academic lad from working-class Workington who saw Durham when he played for Cumbria, and the Chelsea-born Pope, having attended the fee. – pay Cranleigh and enjoy a largely frictionless rise through the Surrey ranks.
Related: England’s Tom Hartley covers ‘the Stokes way’ on underdog day | Simon Burnton
But as they sat side by side on Sunday for the post-match press conference in the bowels of the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, their shins caked with dirt and sweat from a stunning 28-run victory over India in their own backyard, they were reminded that little such differences matter. From a cricketing perspective, they seem to be cut more from the same cloth.
Stokes certainly thought as much at the start of last summer, when he confirmed that Pope had landed the role as he had consigliere. He stuck his neck out for him when he took over the captaincy 12 months earlier, too, insisting that Pope would have to return after the scrappy Ashes tour, before starting to believe he could replace himself. to reach your No. on the first fall.
Over the course of the first Test here, the two displays of faith from Stokes paid a handsome dividend, Pope central to the remarkable turnaround as both leader and batsman. Before the start of the third day, England are still three wickets from batting again and already 175 runs, it was the Pope who addressed the team before they took the field.
Because of a slightly skittish failure in the first innings, and this is Pope’s first Test back since his ashes were destroyed by Lord’s dislocated shoulder requiring surgery, the 26-year-old could be forgiven for looking in. Instead, speaking with apparent clarity and determination, he told his teammates to just play the moment, not the game situation.
Deeds followed the words, with that masterful 196 compiled over six hours against the world’s first spin attack on a spin pitch, aided by the lower order, having already entered English folklore. And the gushing didn’t come directly from the Englishman’s mouth either, even if Joe Root was calling him India’s “new benchmark” for his own prowess in Asian conditions.
“I have never seen a better sweep and backsweep display in these conditions against that quality of bowling,” said India’s head coach and all-time great Rahul Dravid. Unlike his captain, Rohit Sharma, who said that he is not targeting his opponents, Dravid admitted that revised plans are urgently needed.
Not that Stokes was off the tiller here; his fingerprints were all over this one. It was his 14th win out of 19 as full-time Test captain and, he said, his biggest to date. Given the resources at his disposal – resources further reduced by Jack Leach’s injured knee – it’s hard to think of much else that could have been taken off the ground.
So much goes back to Tom Hartley’s handling on the first evening, pushing the rookie through the blunt he was receiving from Yashasvi Jaiswal and out the other side. “It’s his confidence,” said the 24-year-old, whose seven-match 62 was the third five-wicket haul by an opening spinner under Stokes. “The way it picks you up, there are no negative thoughts, it’s all positive.
“I’ve been watching a bit and they’ve done some rogue things,” replied Hartley, when asked if he had brought in enough of England under Stokes and former head coach Brendon McCullum. “After being in this Test match I’m all on board. Even before that, I was happy with it, I was anyway. They bring so much confidence and life.”
Of course, there was ambiguity at play here too; the kind that saw the team travel to Abu Dhabi for a pre-series camp – as was the case before Pakistan – despite knowing the grief it would bring. According to Hartley, it was essential that pitches could be adapted to order, to start the week flat and make them more capricious as the tour progressed.
It was said that the Pope was particularly pleased with this, and the victory was visible to all. It was a high-risk innings but Stokes knew he could deliver when recalled.
The captain looked to be moving better after knee surgery – as evidenced by Ravindra Jadeja’s athletic run on day four – and remains committed to leading this Test side for some time to come. But when the day comes, and if it is the Pope who steps up, another backstory does not necessarily mean a different approach.
