Ollie Pope ready to roll with England demands in second Sri Lanka Test

England's Ollie Pope at Lord’s before the second Test, looking to improve on his Old Trafford showing when he scored only 12 runs. Photograph: Steven Paston/PA

In the week when the Gallagher brothers smoked the peace pipe and announced the return of Oasis, Ollie Pope was not exactly looking back in anger at Manchester. The five-wicket victory against Sri Lanka made for a bright start as England’s stand-in captain and the only downside – two failures with the bat – was still a lesson learned.

Before the second Test at Lord’s that gets under way on Thursday, Pope admitted he had struggled to “compartmentalise” the dual roles of captain and batter at Old Trafford.