England's stand-in captain, Ollie Pope, highlighted the team's versatility after their cautious yet successful chase led to a five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test at Old Trafford on Saturday. This win demonstrated that England are not merely a 'one-dimensional' team, despite their reputation for aggressive 'Bazball' tactics since Brendon McCullum's appointment as red-ball coach in May 2022. After restricting Sri Lanka to 326 in their second innings, England took nearly 58 overs to achieve a target of 205, hindered by a slow outfield and disciplined Sri Lankan bowling which made boundaries scarce. Notably, star batsman Joe Root's unbeaten 62, which was crucial in their successful pursuit, included only two fours from 128 balls.
Pope, who is set to captain England throughout this three-match series due to Ben Stokes' hamstring injury, emphasized that the team's approach is not solely about rapid scoring. "This is not just a one-dimensional team where we want to go out and score quickly," he said, following England's fourth consecutive Test win of the season, which included a 3-0 sweep of the West Indies. "It's a team where we want to keep reading situations slightly better and try to be as ruthless as we can. It's not all about just trying to score as fast as we can, it's about getting the job done as well." Pope expressed satisfaction with his first match as England captain, especially since the victory came with more than a day to spare.
Despite his personal disappointment of being dismissed for six twice, including a mis-timed reverse sweep, Pope reflected positively on his captaincy debut. "I think that's probably one thing I can take from this Test -- making sure I'm captain when I'm in the field but that when it's batting time, it's batting time," he remarked. England will now assess the fitness of fast bowler Mark Wood, who missed the final day's play due to a thigh issue. "We're going to see how he pulls up and go from there," Pope stated, noting that nothing is set in stone. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka, despite a disastrous start collapsing to 6-3 on the opening morning, managed to extend the game into the fourth day, with Kamindu Mendis' 113 being a bright spot. However, challenging conditions made it difficult for the tourists, with captain Dhananjaya de Silva hoping for better weather in the next match.
