• Source:JND
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Despite leading England to a series win over Sri Lanka in Test, stand-in captain Ollie Pope is facing harsh scrutiny for his dipped batting form, having scored just 30 runs in four innings.

Pope's performance has been criticized, with many doubting his ability to fill in for the injured Ben Stokes. However, Pope pledged to block out the criticism and concentrate on his game, determined to retrieve his batting tempo and hush his doubters.

Pope's batting woes continued at Lord's, where he scored just 1 and 17 in England's dominant win over Sri Lanka. His dismissals raised concerns that the added burden of captaincy was impacting his game. In the first innings, a careless pull shot led to his defeat, while in the second innings, he dropped to a similar type of shot, top-edging an uppercut to deep point.

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"I'm not going to put down my average shot to the fact that I was captain. 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," Pope said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

"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," he added.

Pope admitted that his uncertain starts at the crease are a concern, admitting that he's working to overcome his timid starts. This is a dramatic issue for Pope, given his recent form, which included a ton and two fifties against the West Indies.

"The last two games I've had, they're learning games for me. 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," Pope said.

Earlier, former England captain Michael Vaughan launched a critical attack on Pope, doubting his suitability for leadership by calling him "insecure" and indicating he lacks the right personality traits for the role. Pope, however, stays concentrated on the task at hand, accepting that increased scrutiny comes with the captaincy.

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"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," Pope said.

"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," said the stand-in captain.