Ben Stokes Defends Ollie Pope Amidst Criticism, Cites 'English Culture Towards Sport'

Ben Stokes has come to the defense of stand-in Test captain Ollie Pope, who has faced criticism for his batting form while leading the team in Stokes' absence due to injury. Stokes attributes the criticism to "English culture towards sport," where someone always needs to be in the firing line. He praises Pope for doing "fantastically well" as captain and notes that he was in good form before taking on the leadership role. Stokes encourages Pope to continue leading in his own way and not worry about criticism.