England skipper Ben Stokes has rallied behind vice-captain Ollie Pope, claiming his Trent Bridge century against Zimbabwe saw off an “agenda” against him. England won their first game of the summer by an innings and 45 runs against opponents whose resistance only lasted until the third afternoon in Nottingham, with Shoaib Bashir finishing the tourists off with a career-best haul of six for 81. The game had earlier been set up by a hat-trick of top-order hundreds from Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley and Pope – the latter two having faced question marks over their place in the side. With rising star Jacob Bethell set to return from the IPL in time for next month’s India series, there was speculation that a change was in the offing. Stokes inadvertently fuelled that on the eve of the match when he praised Bethell and added, “I think you put two and two together and you probably know what’s going to happen”. He has now clarified that he was not promising an instant recall to the XI and suggested Pope was being targeted by critics. Speaking to the BBC, he explained: “There’s always someone going to be under the spotlight. I’ve personally felt that it was a bit of – not a vendetta – but I got asked a simple question about Bethell. “I said, ‘put two and two together, he comes back into the squad’ and then all of a sudden it turns into something that suits the agenda of the time. “It is unfortunate that you say something and it can get twisted. I made it very clear to Popey the night before this Test that is not the case. He’s my vice-captain and he’s been incredible for me and the team at number three. I’m very, very pleased for him that he went out there and played the way that he did.” Stokes also made a point of praising Bashir, who continues his unusual journey from the periphery of county cricket to the top of the Test game. England have made a huge investment in the 21-year-old, who cannot command a place in the Somerset first team but remains locked in as their number one slow bowler. Despite being farmed out on loan to Glamorgan at the start of the season, taking just two wickets at an eye-watering average of 152, he thrived on his return to the international side with nine across both innings. Bashir is still raw but Stokes is convinced he is backing the right horse. “He’s going from strength to strength. We know, in Bash, we’ve got a very, very special talent within that dressing room,” he said. “It’s’s scary to think about the start to his career that he’s had considering what he had experience wise before he made his Test debut. I know it’s a odd story to look at, I can understand why it’s one of those things where people find it hard to believe. “But those decisions in terms of who we pick, who we play and who we back, those are ours to make. If he keeps putting in performances like he has done this week then hopefully one day it’ll make sense to everyone why we pick him. He’s the youngest Englishman to 50 Test match wickets, that’s a pretty cool thing to think about.”