"Everything in your favor, and yet you're sitting in the changing room" - Eoin Morgan criticizes Pope's decision to walk off due to bad light
Former England skipper Eoin Morgan has come down hard on Ollie Pope's decision to not continue with spinners after bad light played spoilsport in the final session on Day 3 of the second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's. The stand-in skipper opted to walk off with 22 overs remaining in the day when Sri Lanka were tottering at 53-2 in their fourth innings run chase, in pursuit of the 483-run target.
England compiled 251 runs in their second innings, which combined with their imperious first-innings lead led to the mammoth total. The on-field umpires instructed Pope to keep the seamers at bay due to the fading light after Sri Lanka lost their first wicket. This led to the off-spin duo of Joe Root and Shoaib Bashir bowling overs 9 to 12, before the light improved.
Pope brought back the pacers, and Olly Stone struck in the very next over, reducing the visitors to 43-2. Sri Lanka sent in nightwatchman Prabath Jayasuriya at No.4 to assess the situation after Nissanka's dismissal.
However, the light's intensity intervened yet again, and Pope had to resort to spinners yet again. After getting six overs of spin, where Sri Lanka scored 10 runs without losing a wicket, Pope decided to end the day's proceedings.
Eoin Morgan opined that since England had nothing to lose in that particular situation, Pope should have continued with the spinners.
"I think it's a questionable decision. The reason behind that is just the whole context of the last hour or so: it is dark. There's a reason the seamers can't bowl: it is dangerous for everybody concerned," Morgan said on Sky Sports.
"If you're sitting in Sri Lanka's changing room, you're thinking, 'Jeez the last place I want to be is out there with the bat in hand - facing anybody.' It's a lose-lose situation. I totally understand the concern for the condition of the ball, but you're talking about England's premium fingerspinner in Shoaib Bashir, who needs to bowl. The ball is turning and bouncing," Morgan continued.
Morgan further emphasized that it did not make sense for England to walk away when the opposition were in a perilous situation.
"I question the decision… you have runs to play with, you have two or three new balls, everything in your favour. And yet you're sitting in the changing room," the former skipper opined.
When a similar situation had come up in the series opener at Old Trafford, Pope had opted to stick with his spinners. Root and Bashir bowled 12 overs in tandem as Sri Lanka stretched their first innings total with Milan Rathnayake scoring a memorable 72 on debut.
Ollie Pope has had a tough life as captain so far
The stand-in skipper, who has been asked to lead following Ben Stokes' injury, has not had a memorable maiden assignment so far. Although England recorded a win in the first Test to secure a lead in the three-match affair, Pope received flak for his poor captaincy, as well as his form with the bat.
Pope has recorded only 30 runs across four innings in the series so far. He has been dismissed by Asitha Fernando three times already, and has struggled to bat freely along with his leadership responsibilities.