Diminishing Test returns after being promoted to a leadership role is not just an Ollie Pope problem.
Since assuming the vice-captaincy for the Sri Lanka series, Harry Brook has not been his usual, ruthless self. Starts have been given away throughout and an average of 39.50 from four innings is comfortably his lowest of any series in which he has played more than one match.
The struggle is relative, of course. Pope would swap his 7.50 average in a heartbeat, or barter one of his deputy’s three thirty-odd scores that followed an accomplished 56 in the first innings at Manchester. And it is fair to say they are dealing with their new roles very differently.
Fresh from victory at Lord’s that gives England an insurmountable 2-0 lead ahead of the third and final Test on Friday, Pope spoke of needing to “block out the criticism”. Balancing captaincy and batting remains a challenge, if only for one more game. The subsequent judgements on his personality, particularly set against the inspirational figure of regular men’s Test captain Ben Stokes, will take longer to dispel.
Brook, on the other hand, seems as he always does. In good touch even without a score of note, and typically unflustered. “It’s not a massive role really, is it?” he said of vice-captaincy.
“I haven’t had to do much, to be honest. I think Popey has done an amazing job. I’ve tried to give him a few ideas here and there; he’s taken some and he’s shrugged some off so it’s been good so far.”
As for the runs, he is not worried: “[It’s] frustrating to get starts obviously, but I feel like I’m batting really well. And hopefully it’s just a matter of time when a big one comes.”
The contrast in dispositions is stark. Irrespective of this secondment as captain, Pope’s England career has been one of spikes even during a consistent run at No. 3 under Stokes. Brook, on the other hand, has churned consistently. Even a 14-innings wait for his fifth Test century – which came against West Indies earlier this summer – featured match-winning half-centuries in last summer’s third and fifth Ashes Tests.
It is worth going back to the summer of 2022 for a moment. Upon Stokes’ appointment, Pope picked up and phone and asked for the No. 3 spot. Stokes respected the proactiveness and that Pope was willing to bite the bullet at first-drop. With the top six locked in, Brook carried drinks until he got one innings in the seventh and final Test of that season, against South Africa, after Jonny Bairstow broke his leg.
Having been dropped on the 2021-22 Ashes tour, Pope regards that call to Stokes as a sliding doors moment in his career. But it also had a knock-on effect for Brook. Had he featured earlier that summer, there is every chance he would have been the man named as Stokes’ official vice-captain in May of last year, not Pope.
Pope’s credentials at the time were aligned with his standing in the team; comfortable in a new batting spot, popular in the dressing room through familiarity having debuted in 2018, and, at 25, the ideal age to act as a conduit between the older team-mates and newer players coming through. Had Brook (25 now) picked up more than the six caps at the time of that vice-captaincy selection, he might have been the one leading against Sri Lanka.
Nevertheless, captaincy has been a feature of Brook’s 2024 after taking the reins at Northern Superchargers in the men’s Hundred. “It was different, but it was good fun,” he said of the experience, which included working with new head coach Andrew Flintoff.
Superchargers narrowly missed out on making the top-three spot on Net Run Rate, losing just two matches. Brook, absent from the first defeat to Trent Rockets as it coincided with the end of the West Indies Test series, impressed tactically, with a matter-of-fact demeanour that allowed him to stay level in a volatile format. He was also Superchargers’ second-highest runscorer with 163.
“Obviously I’ve played with Stokesy quite a bit now and watching the way he goes about it I’d be lying if I said I didn’t take a few learnings from him,” Brook said of his captaincy inspiration. With Jos Buttler suffering a setback in his injury recovery for the white ball fixtures against Australia, Brook may get his chance to apply those learnings on the international stage.
Asked if he was keen to captain more, Brook responded with a diplomatic “we’ll see”. But it is clear leadership is on the horizon. In a Test squad that currently features seven players aged between 23 and 27, along with a 19 (Josh Hull) and 20-year-old (Shoaib Bashir), Brook is a vital part of the nucleus of England’s present and future.
It remains Stokes’ show, of course, reinforced by the allrounder’s presence on the balconies at Emirates Old Trafford and Lord’s. He will be just as visible at the Kia Oval as the hosts chase a first flawless Test summer in 20 years.
Should that be achieved, it will be a shared feather in the caps of Stokes and Pope. The lack of resistance from West Indies and Sri Lanka will make it hard conclude England are a force to be reckoned with as they taper towards the 2025-26 Ashes.
But the main takeaway already is a clearer idea of England’s next Test captain. And it is Pope’s vice rather than Stokes’.
