Business of Sport Ep.39: Ollie Pope, England Cricket Vice Captain, 'Can test and franchise cricket co-exist?'

Ollie is the vice captain of the England cricket team. Last month, with Ben Stokes out injured, he was made captain for the first time for the series against Sri Lanka. He has been a key part of the side that over the last few years has transformed how test cricket is both viewed and played. An insight into what is going on behind the scenes with England throughout this period is something we’ve wanted to dig into from the start of the show. It’s fair to say that the future of test match cricket hinges significantly on the format's ability to sustain the engagement of a changing demographic and provide the entertainment expected by a modern sporting audience.

Ollie is at the heart of this. As tempting as it was to spend the whole time digging into Bazball, while obviously not calling it Bazball because they really don’t like that phrase, this is a rare unveiling of a cricketer's view of the modern game. England’s style has created an air of excitement that now surrounds the test match stage once more, but as Ollie outlines, the future needs to be more than India, England and Australia playing each other. From the view of the players, the ones that sit at the heart of this, how do you do it? 

On this week’s show, we discuss:

How to focus on your priorities:

• Why playing for England will always be the focus for Ollie as long as he is selected in the team.
• What was it like walking out onto the field as England captain for the recent test series against Sri Lanka?
• With a packed global calendar now incorporating test, short form and franchise cricket, how do you prioritise what to play in and what are the consequences of those choices?
• There is a place in the game for all these formats, but they need to work together to co-exist rather than compete aggressively and take players from each other.

A new England:

• What changed when Brendon McCullum took over the role of England coach?
• How important is it to have the support and encouragement of the management team to drive your ambition and performance?
• The value placed on security; it is not to encourage complacency, but knowing you will have the time to prove yourself in the team and not be dropped for one bad performance helps establish great players.
• What makes this England team stand out? How have the players bought into the new ideas and objectives of the management team?
• The importance of experience. Having Stokes, Cook, Root, Anderson, Broad all play in the same team as Ollie throughout his career has enabled him to learn from some of the greatest players in the game.

Becoming a professional:

• Cricket can have some strange pathways to the top. How did Ollie cope with being thrust into the England team after playing 15 first class games?
• With all the opportunity to play so many different styles of the game, has the rise of franchise cricket shaped how youngsters are learning how to play cricket?
• What do the contracts look like when you get into the sport and how does it work between county and country?
• What becoming an experienced member of the dressing room does for you as a player and your ability to act as mentor to the new teammates starting out.

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