Due to Ben Stokes’ injury, Ollie Pope captained England in the second Test match against Sri Lanka. At the same time, a statement came from the team’s former captain Michael Vaughan that Ollie Pope is not suitable to captain the England Test team, even though he was the vice-captain in the presence of Ben Stokes. Ollie Pope won the first Test as captain and after that he attacked Michael Vaughan and said that he stays away from those who criticize. At the same time, now Michael Vaughan is adamant on his point and he has reiterated the same thing again.
Michael Vaughan praised Ollie Pope in his column for The Telegraph, but also said that he is not suitable to captain. Vaughan said, “Ollie Pope is the ideal vice-captain for England. Pope is the perfect partner for Ben Stokes. He is a very good person, trains well and is a true team man. A person who can give tactical advice when needed and is happy in doing it, but it is better to keep him in the role of vice-captain rather than making him the captain. ” Vaughan also criticized Pope for batting, who could score only 18 runs in both innings in the second Test.
He further said, “Not every vice-captain can become a captain. There are many captains who cannot become vice-captains, including me. I wanted to be a leader. I wanted to make decisions. I did not want to be a thoughtful strategist in the background. I hope Pope fights his poor form. I hope he finds a way to get rhythm. At game time, he is not going to be the captain and it depends entirely on his batting. Can he find that rhythm and peace at the crease?”