Ollie Pope fires back at Michael Vaughan’s brutal 'insecure human' jibe

England's stand-in captain Ollie Pope has given a perfect reply to Michael Vaughan's comment in which the former England captain called him an "insecure human being". Vaughan had even stated that Pope should not be England's captain.

Ollie Pope is England's designated vice-captain in Test cricket. After Ben Stokes was ruled out of the ongoing three-match Test series against Sri Lanka due to a hamstring injury, Pope was elevated to the role of captain.

While Ollie Pope's captaincy has been good so far, his batting form has suffered. While batting at No. 3, Pope has scored just 30 runs in the four innings of the series so far at an average of 7.50. With just one Test to go in the series, Ollie Pope will be itching to get a big score under his belt.

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Ollie Pope gives a befitting reply to Michael Vaughan's "insecure human being" comment

After England's brilliant win in the second Test at Lord's, Ollie Pope spoke to the reporters regarding the criticism around his captaincy.

Ollie Pope mentioned that he wasn't surprised as he had expected the criticism when he was appointed the England captain. He further added that he would look to stay away from all the negative voices around him.

"I'm not surprised. Chatting to Stokesy (Ben Stokes) before this series, when you're captain as well, you're going to attract a lot more (criticism). To be honest, it is just important to block it out and keep staying close with the people around you. There's a lot of voices, a lot of guys who want to have their say - some past cricketers as well - and that's completely fine," Ollie Pope was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

While Ollie Pope has gone through a disappointing series so far, England have had no problems in defeating their opponents in the two Tests so far. In the first Test, Sri Lanka gave some fight to the hosts but England prevailed by 5 wickets in the end thanks to the brilliance of Jamie Smith and Joe Root.

England secure a series win

In the second Test, England were more clinical as they did not allow Sri Lanka to get back into the game. England scored a 400-plus total in their first innings and bundled out Sri Lanka for just 196 in the first innings. Sri Lanka came back strongly to restrict England to 251 in the second innings but the target was way too much for the tourists.

Chasing 483 to win, Sri Lanka showed some fight but none of their batters would go on to make a big score. Three Sri Lankan batters were dismissed in their fifties as they were bundled out for 292. Gus Atkinson picked up a five-wicket haul while Chris Woakes and Olly Stone picked up two wickets each.

With this win, England are 2-0 up in the series. The final Test will be played at The Oval, London from September 6.