London, Sep 7: Performance matters most in life. It is vital in sports as well. In cricket, when a player is not in form and does not perform consistently, then there is bound to be criticism.
As England's stand-in skipper Ollie Pope hit a ton on Day 1 of the Third Test against visitors Sri Lanka, he was highly praised by former English fast bowler Stuart Broad.
Broad remarked that all the talk was about Pope and his century is likely to silence his critics.
It was Pope's 7th Test ton. He was unbeaten on 103 at stumps on Day 1 in his home ground on Friday.
Broad reminded that Pope averages around 80 in his home ground and his knock would definitely motivate him to do well.
The former England pacer reminded that Pope is a high-quality player and once he gets in, he almost converts his starts to big scores.
Since Pope was struggling, so there was a lot of fuss about his form and place. But Ollie Pope is too good a player to be written off so early, Broad reminded.
Pope has been assigned to lead England in the home Test series against Sri Lanka as their regular Test skipper Ben Stokes is ruled out with an injury.
