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Ollie Pope
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Former England skipper Michael Vaughan has lambasted the country's stand-in Test captain Ollie Pope. Pope has been leading the team in the ongoing Test series against Sri Lanka. 

The top-order batter, who is England's vice-captain in the red-ball format, was promoted as the stop-gap skipper after Ben Stokes suffered an injury while playing The Hundred. 

Under Pope's captaincy, England won the inaugural Test at the Old Trafford. Moreover, the hosts are on course to do the double, with another solid win at the iconic Lord's Stadium. That being said, Vaughan is not taking the positive results in defence of Ollie Pope. 

However, Vaughan has lambasted Pope's captaincy, while also naming his preferred choice to lead England in the absence of captain Ben Stokes. 

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What did Michael Vaughan say about Ollie Pope's captaincy?

Vaughan recently appeared as a guest at the 'Test Match Special' podcast. Via renowned media outlet BBC, he talked at length about the captaincy of interim skipper, Ollie Pope. The 49-year-old slammed Pope's captaincy, as an alternative to the injured Ben Stokes. 

Vaughan talked about Pope's personality being unfit for someone to lead the England cricket team. He also called him an insecure human, going a bit harsh on the 26-year-old.

He said, "I don't like him as the captain. I don't think he's the kind of personality that I'd want as England captain. I think he's quite an insecure human being - a great, great team guy. I think he's a great person. I think by throwing the captaincy on him, that's added extra pressure."

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Who did Michael Vaughan name as his choice as England captain?

The 49-year-old named Harry Brook as his ideal choice to lead England in the future. Criticising Pope at the podcast, Vaughan spoke about Pope 'not being that person' to lead the Three Lions. 

"Harry Brook, for me as an England captain in the making. I don't see Ollie Pope as that person," Michael Vaughan stated. 

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Author(s)
Mohit Khakhar Photo

Mohit Khakhar is a content producer for The Sporting News India.