England stand-in captain Ollie Pope reckons it is crucial for him to block the outside noise and stay close to the people around him amid the slump in his form. Pope returned with scores of 1 and 17 in the second Test match against Sri Lanka at Lords, which the hosts won by 190 runs to take an impregnable lead of 2-0 in the series.

Pope had returned with scores of 6 and 6 in the opening Test match at Old Trafford, Manchester, which the home team won by five wickets.

Pope has looked fidgety with the bat, especially at the start of his innings and he hasn’t been looked comfortable at the crease in the recent past.

Ollie Pope said as quoted by BBC, “That’s the way cricket is sometimes – form comes and goes. The best players are the ones who can draw a line under it. Hopefully, I can put a score together.

“Chatting to Stokesy before this series, when you’re captain you attract a lot more. It’s important to block it out and stay close with the people around me. There are a lot of voices, a lot of guys who want to have their say, past cricketers as well. That’s completely fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.”

Before the series against Sri Lanka, England won the three-match Test series against the West Indies by 3-0 while playing in their own conditions. Pope said they have played some really good cricket all summer.

“It would be a pretty cool thing to look back on after a summer of six Tests and having won them all, if we can do it. We’ve played some really good cricket throughout this summer after a tough winter away in India. To get used to winning games back to back is really pleasing for us.”

The third Test match between England and Sri Lanka will be played at the Kennington Oval, London from Friday onwards.