Ben Stokes has bemoaned the "culture" of English sport for what he perceives as unnecessary criticism of stand-in Test captain Ollie Pope.
With Stokes recovering from a torn left hamstring, Pope, his vice-captain, has stepped in to lead the Test team for the ongoing Sri Lanka series. Having overseen comprehensive victories in the first two Tests, the Surrey batter returns to the Kia Oval on Friday looking for a clean sweep. Victory will give England their first 100 percent record in a home season since 2004, after Stokes led a comfortable 3-0 win over West Indies earlier this summer.
Pope has marshalled well in the field, but his batting has suffered because of the extra responsibility. An average of 7.50 from four innings - which he attributes to difficulties compartmentalising captaincy with scoring runs at No.3 - has led to a raft of criticism. Former England captain Michael Vaughan was particularly scathing during the second Test, labelling Pope "an insecure human being" and ill-equipped to lead.
Stokes, who has been with the team throughout the series, warned Pope that stepping up as captain would invite more criticism. Though not surprised by the comments against Pope, Stokes has been impressed with how the 26-year-old has dealt with the added pressure and acquitted himself on the field.
"Unfortunately, it's just English culture towards sport," Stokes told ESPNcricinfo."There's always got to be someone in the firing line and obviously when you're captain you are more exposed to that.
"He's won two games out of two in charge. At the end of the day, I think that's the thing that he's concentrated on the most. He obviously wants to be scoring runs and leading from the front. He's openly admitted that.
"People are very quick to jump on anything, to someone who's in the firing line and obviously Pope coming in and being captain whilst I'm injured, you can say he's the easy target there.
"But I think he's done fantastically well in leading the team. He's done it his own way, which is something I encouraged him to do, to keep driving the team forward in the way that I've been trying to do, but make sure that you put your own personal touches to it.
"I think he's tactically he's done very well. Let's not forget before that first Test against Sri Lanka, he'd come off the back of fifty, fifty and a hundred (57, 121 and 51 in consecutive innings against West Indies). And then he doesn't have one good game and everyone's saying he is out of form. It's like 'short memories people, come on!'"
It is not the first time Stokes has staunchly defended a teammate. Even before he became captain, he has always felt a duty to his fellow cricketer and athlete, particularly as his stock rose to international repute.
That Stokes - a Red Bull athlete - is speaking at their Gaming Sphere in Shoreditch is aligned to that altruistic streak. He is here promoting his athlete-collective, 4Cast, while also indulging his new-ish hobby, Call of Duty.
"It went big through Covid," Stokes said of his gaming interest. "That's where it all filtered from. Then as the world got back to some kind of normality, you had your diehards who stayed with it - me being one of them. It's like another sort of hobby to get you away from all the things that cricket can bring. Clare (his wife) doesn't understand it, but it's like her glass of wine at night. At the end of a hard day, I jump on for a couple of hours with my mates, headset on."
As for 4Cast, that weds Stokes' interest in business and his belief in the power of a team. There were shades of both this time last year when Stokes acted as a key figure in negotiations between the players and the ECB, with the governing body introducing multi-year central contracts.
Stokes ended up rejecting a multi-year offer, choosing to keep his options open. This year, an agreement over a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the ECB and The England Player Partnership (TEPP) will be struck, which, aligned with the new cycle of broadcast rights, should bring more money to the table. All being well, it is likely Stokes will sign on for more than 12 months this time.
"I've always enjoyed the business side of things," Stokes said of his role at 4Cast. "You see all these big athletes out there who are diving into the world of business. But one thing with me that I really enjoy, is we only really do stuff that we like.
"It's great being able to just bring athletes from different sports into one thing. Athletes together are actually really powerful in terms of what you are able to achieve. When you put a big group of athletes together, it's amazing what opportunities are out there."
To find out more about Ben Stokes, visit his Instagram channel and Red Bull athlete page