“I’m not going to put down my average shot to the fact that I was captain,” Pope said. “I’ll learn from it and move on, but I think I’ve managed my own game better throughout this match… The second innings was slightly different, because we were really trying to push the game forward, but I was very disappointed with the shot I played in the first innings so early on.
“I’m not going to hide behind the fact that I’ve had two poor games with the bat. 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.”
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“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 – and then when I do get in, it’s trying to cash in as well.”
“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. There’s a lot of voices, a lot of guys who want to have their say – some past cricketers as well – and that’s completely fine.
“Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, but it’s important for us as a team and me to stay and keep trusting the people in the four walls, because that’s not going to help me get back into my best form. Sometimes, when you have two bad games, it can feel a lot worse than it is because of the noise that’s surrounding it.”
“For me, it’s just trying to stay as level as I can and keep on trusting the people around me, putting my work in, and not really overthinking it, to be honest. When I went and made good runs in that West Indies series, that’s exactly what I was playing like, so there’s no real need for me to get too involved in what people are saying.”
It will be Pope’s first Test at his home ground – where he has scored 11 first-class hundreds for Surrey – since 2022. “Obviously it’s a great place to bat,” he said. “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.”
England have not won every Test in a home season since 2004, and will be pushing for a summer sweep. “It would be a pretty cool thing to look back on,” Pope 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.”
Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98
Source: ESPN Crickinfo