Club Cricket Star Sets Sights on Oval Redemption After Lean Patch

Ollie Pope, the stand-in England captain, is determined to bounce back from his recent batting struggles, pledging to “block out” the mounting criticism as he looks to regain form at his home ground, The Oval, in the third Test against Sri Lanka.

Despite England’s perfect record under Pope’s temporary leadership, the 25-year-old has come under fire after managing just 30 runs across four innings in the first two matches of the series. Scores of 1 and 17 at Lord’s suggested that Pope’s attempts to “compartmentalize” the captaincy responsibilities had failed to shield his batting.

“I’m not going to hide behind the fact that I’ve had two poor games with the bat,” Pope admitted. “That’s the way cricket is sometimes, and form comes and goes. But I think the best players are the ones who can draw a line under it and have a fresh start next week. Hopefully, I can put a score together.”

The Surrey batsman, known for his frenetic starts, conceded that his nervous beginnings are an area he is still working to improve. “The last two games I’ve had, they’re learning games for me,” he said. “It definitely is something that I’m still trying to improve in my game, and obviously the way that I start my innings especially is something that I want to keep on improving.”

Despite the growing scrutiny, Pope remains unfazed, stating that he expected increased attention while in temporary charge of the national side. “I’m not surprised,” he said. “Chatting to Stokesy before this series, when you’re captain as well, you’re going to attract a lot more [criticism]. To be honest, it is just important to block it out and keep staying close with the people around you.”

With The Oval being his home ground, where he has scored 11 first-class centuries for Surrey, Pope is eager to put on a show in front of a “great crowd” and kickstart his return to form. “It’s always special getting back to The Oval, where I’ve played all my county cricket, so hopefully there will be a great crowd in. Everyone will be excited to get to The Oval.”

As England aim to complete a clean sweep of their home season, Pope is determined to contribute with the bat and help his side achieve the feat. “It would be a pretty cool thing to look back on,” he said. “We’ve played some really good cricket throughout this summer, and obviously had a tough winter away in India where the results weren’t what we wanted on the return trip. So to get used to winning games back-to-back is really pleasing for us.”

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