How has Ollie Pope, set to lead England against India in 5th Test, performed as captain?
Ollie Pope has been named England's captain for the fifth and final Test against India, with Ben Stokes being ruled out of the clash due to a shoulder injury. Ollie Pope has led England in four Tests already. Here's how he has fared as captain in the format for England:
Ollie Pope is set to lead England in the fifth and final Test against India as Ben Stokes has been ruled out due to a shoulder injury. The hosts are leading the five-match series 2-1 and won't be losing it now, even as England have made four changes to their line-up. Apart from Stokes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, and Liam Dawson have also been left out and Jacob Bethell, Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue and Jamie Overton have been included.
Coming back to Pope, he will be leading England in the longest format for the fifth time, with his last Test as captain coming in October 2024 in Multan, which they won by an innings and 47 runs. Notably, under Pope's leadership, England have three out of four Tests so far and the hosts will be confident of retaining the series lead and lifting the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
How has Pope performed as a batter while captaining England?
Ollie Pope hasn't enjoyed batting much while leading England. He averages only 27.28 in four matches so far, having mustered 191 runs with a century to his name. 154 is his best score as captain which means, in the rest of the innings, he has scored only 37 runs.
Pope has led his side against Pakistan in one Test and against Sri Lanka in three Tests, all coming in 2024. His only loss as captain came at the Kennington Oval in London against Sri Lanka. Interestingly, the fifth and final Test between England and India is set to be played at the Oval where Pope lost his last Test as captain.
England playing XI for 5th Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (C), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith (WK), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue.