Jamie Smith has backed “independent thinker” Ollie Pope to do a great job as replacement for injured England skipper Ben Stokes during the three-match Test series with Sri Lanka.
Pope will step up to captain England next week after Stokes was ruled out of the rest of the summer with a torn left hamstring, which he sustained while playing in The Hundred on Sunday.
While Pope has been Stokes’ number two, his own captaincy experience is limited to eight Twenty20 matches this season and a first-class fixture between Surrey and Glamorgan in 2021.
England wicketkeeper Smith featured under Pope in the Vitality Blast, where Surrey won six out of eight, and is confident he can lead from the front against Sri Lanka.
“Yeah, he’ll be great. It is obviously a fantastic honour and I know Ollie is someone who will be very proud walking out there and captaining England,” Smith said.
“I think what he will bring is pretty similar to what Ben Stokes brings. He is someone who is a very independent thinker, he is always thinking on his feet and will not let the game drift.
“He is always looking to be proactive, which is a great skill to have and especially in Test cricket you don’t want to be stagnate for too long. This current regime doesn’t want to be stagnate for too long, so he fits that bill perfectly.
“It will be great to play under him, another Surrey person and it is exciting times. He was very relaxed (for Surrey). He brought a great calmness to the group, which is never easy in T20 and especially at Surrey with the personnel you’ve got.
“He has great composure and I feel like he settled the side really nicely and brought along a good group that was very successful in the group stages.”
He is someone who is a very independent thinker, he is always thinking on his feet and will not let the game drift
Jamie Smith on Ollie Pope
Stokes’ absence could result in Smith being moved up from number seven to bat at six.
The 24-year-old, who impressed against West Indies last month with his glovework alongside scores of 70 and 95, insisted it would not affect him.
Smith added: “It won’t bother me at all. The difference between seven and six isn’t a massively great one anyway, but yeah it will be nice to get out there again in a week’s time.”
The current focus for Smith is The Hundred and a victory for Birmingham Phoenix over Manchester Originals on Thursday will earn them a knockout berth.
He was thankful the Phoenix management team gave him an extra match off after England duty but was content with his start to life on the Test scene and retains ambitions to eventually be an all-format international player.
“I think it was a successful start, but it’s only just the start really,” Smith insisted.
“It was nice to get out there and experience it all and be in an environment which allows you to thrive and you can play with good confidence and be yourself.
“Mentally and physically, it was quite a lot in three weeks going from county cricket into that and with the potential for more to come.
“It was nice to have just an extra week of a breather basically and I was very thankful to Birmingham for allowing that to happen. It’s my aspiration to play all formats. I think I can be successful in all formats for England and it is something I’ll definitely be looking to do.”
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