England stand-in Test captain Ollie Pope responded to former cricketer Michael Vaughan's brutal criticism of him during the ongoing series against Sri Lanka.
Pope, who took up the captaincy in the absence of the injured Ben Stokes, under whom England took a 2-0 lead in the 3-match series, however, his individual performance as a batter has been shockingly poor.
Speaking on a podcast, Vaughan said that Pope's personality made him unfit to lead the England cricket team, calling the 26-year-old an "insecure human" which many perceived to be a personal attack on the youngster.
"I don't like him as the captain. I don't think he's the kind of personality that I'd want as England captain. I think he's quite an insecure human being - a great, great team guy. I think he's a great person. I think by throwing the captaincy on him, that's added extra pressure," Vaughan had said.
Vaughan had suggested that Harry Brook should instead be made as the stand-in Test skipper.
Following England's back-to-back Test wins in the series, Pope spoke to reporters and replied to Vaughan's harsh criticism of his personality.
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How did Ollie Pope reply to Michael Vaughan's 'insecure human being that shouldn't be England captain' claim?
Stand-in Test captain Pope stated that he was warned by Stokes about blocking out criticisms as the skipper of the England team.
In reply to Vaughan's criticisms, Pope told reporters that he has opted to follow his teammate Stokes's advice. However, apart from captaincy, he has also been criticized for his poor performances as a batter, which is his primary role in the team.
Vaughan believed that the pressure of captaincy has affected Pope's performances as a batter in the team.
"I'm not going to put down my average shot to the fact that I was captain," Pope said.
"I'm not surprised. 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."
Pope opted to stay focused on the upcoming third Test against Sri Lanka, instead of being affected by the criticisms of the former England captain.
"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," he concluded.
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What is Ollie Pope's record in England vs Sri Lanka 2024 Test series?
| Innings | Runs | Average | Highest | 50s | 100s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 30 | 7.50 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
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