Ollie Pope: England eyeing ‘ruthless’ approach after ‘brutal changes’ from head coach Brendon McCullum
Published 29/08/2024 at 09:47 GMT+1
The cricket world was shaken earlier in the summer when legendary bowler James Anderson announced his retirement from international cricket ahead of the English summer. Speaking ahead of the second Test against Sri Lanka, vice-captain Ollie Pope admitted that head coach Brendon McCullum had to make "some pretty brutal changes" as he looked to keep the team pushing forward.
Important for Pope 'not to try and be Ben Stokes' - Lawrence
Video credit: TNT Sports
England vice-captain Ollie Pope has explained that head coach Brendon McCullum had to make “some pretty brutal changes” in order to get the team “moving forward” coming into the summer.
McCullum flew in to the UK from New Zealand in May to talk to legendary seamer James Anderson and following that discussion, the Lancashire bowler announced that he would retire from international cricket after the summer’s first Test against the West Indies.
Pope, who is deputising for injured captain Ben Stokes during the series against Sri Lanka, said before the start of the second Test match of that series that the changes McCullum made were “pretty brutal” but were important as the team progresses.
“With what Brendon did leading into this summer, he made some pretty brutal changes that he thought would take the team to a better place moving forward," Pope explained.
"I think we showed last week. We don't use the term 'Bazball', but we played quote 'a different style of cricket' and I think that is something that can keep taking us forward as a team.
"When we can be ruthless, we have got to try to be ruthless just to win as many games as possible.
"Other days we will go out and score a little more freely and potentially take the wickets in a shorter amount of time.
"It is credit to the guys who have come in. Jamie Smith, the way he played in both innings is credit to him and shows that we are taking this team forward."
The five-wicket win in the first Test against Sri Lanka was Pope’s first as captain as he had to stand in for Stokes despite being vice-captain for a while.
- 'Sooner rather than later' - Stokes on schedule to return for Pakistan tour
- One change to England XI to face Sri Lanka as Stone replaces Wood for second Test
- Hull included and Carse returns as England name T20 and ODI squads to face Australia
Pope said that it was a different feeling and almost felt like he was making his debut again.
"It is obviously different captaining for the first time. It is a fresh start but for me, it just has a slightly different feel the first time you do it," Pope said.
"It is almost like that kind of debut feeling again. But at the same time, I really enjoyed the week.
"Obviously the runs didn't come for me, but for the team to get the win, that is the most important thing.
"I think the first time you do anything like that, I remember I was knackered after day one and I hadn't done anything but fielded.
"It is good to get that first win out the way, first win on the board.”
Stream the 2024 CPL live on TNT Sports and discovery+
Related Topics
Advertisement
Advertisement