New Delhi: Former England cricketer Michael Vaughan has criticized Oli Pope’s captaincy in the final test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against India, which England lost by a narrow margin of 6 runs. Ben Stokes, with the exit due to injury, the Pope stepped as a captain, but England could not catch India’s fightback, resulting in a 2–2 series draw.Vaughan reported that while the Pope thrives as a vice-captain, he has a lack of leadership properties required to lead the team in high pressure conditions. He proposed Harry Brook as a better option that Stokes should be unavailable for the upcoming Ashes series, which is ready to start in three months.
“We don’t state how good some vice-captains are. But he is not a captain. And by giving him captaincy, I can see it a mile. He is not a natural leader in the middle, “Vaughan said on Stick to Cricket Podcast.He further expressed concern about Stokes’ injury records and the implications in a long Ashes series.“I noticed against Sri Lanka last year. I have seen it again this week. Say that you Perth and Ben Stokes, shoulder or you know, in the bits of his body. Anything can happen to Ben. The fingers crossed.Meanwhile, Stokes addressed his decision to get out of the final test at the Oval citing fitness and risk management.Stokes said before the match, “As long as we could take the decision, we took it.” “I came down [to the Oval] This morning, to give ourselves every chance to play as a batsman – as soon as we got scan results, bowling was rejected. This is one of those where the risk and reward weighing, the risk was very high. Hearing where it could be, it was not something that was worth taking risks. I will not expect any of my players to risk such injury. So I will start starting again and will focus on whatever has come in winter. Once this series took place, I was putting my feet up anyway, so it doesn’t matter much. ,
