It was after beating Pakistan in Rawalpindi in late 2022, the closest rival to England’s triumph in Hyderabad, that Ollie Pope first publicly emerged as a possible vice-captain to Ben Stokes. Stokes had no official deputy at the time but Pope was down to lead if the bug that swept through the camp kept the captain from playing.
Eyebrows were raised. After all, they make for a hugely contrasting pair of cricketers by way of backstory: Stokes a hyperactive, academia-averse kid from working-class Cockermouth who was spotted by Durham when playing for Cumbria, and Pope, born in Chelsea, having attended fee-paying Cranleigh and enjoyed a largely frictionless rise through the Surrey ranks.
