England National Cricket Team Stand-in Test captain Ollie Pope achieved a magnificent feat in the third and final Test of the series against the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team at the Kennington Oval in London on Friday, September 6.
Papa had come under severe pressure after failing to bat in the first two test matches against the Lankan Lions. In the series opener in Manchester, he hit twin sixes before scoring 1 and 17 in the Lord’s Test.
Despite their setbacks, England managed to win the first two matches to seal the series and Pope was supported by Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum to mount a strong comeback.
The fielder did the same in the third Test and regained the confidence of the team management. Ollie Pope was forced to bat on 10 as Dan Lawrence (5) failed to deliver once more with the bat.
Papa focused in the middle and played his natural game when facing the Sri Lankan bowlers. Ollie Pope made sure to punish bad balls and spoke at his best during batting.
It was a huge relief for him when he completed his 58-ball half-century, as he looked even more confident after that, hitting three figures at the landmark. He finally got it by hitting Asitha Fernando for a four in the 5th ball of the 44th over.
When Pope completed his 102-ball ton, he removed his helmet and celebrated passionately as Ben Stokes and others from the England dressing room cheered the batsman.
The moment Ollie Pope walked into his SEVENTH Test match
pic.twitter.com/uG9nE9enq6
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 6, 2024
This century was a special one for Pope as it not only eased the pressure on him but also helped him become the first batsman in history to score the first seven Test hundreds against seven different oppositions. It was also his first ton as captain and at home.
Ollie Pope Creates History With 7th Test Ton
Pope has now smashed tons in Test cricket against South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan, Ireland, India, West Indies and Sri Lanka.
Pope’s Centuries in Test Cricket:
135* v South Africa
145 New Zealand v
108 v. Pakistan
205 v. Ireland
196 v. India
121 West Indies v
103* v Sri Lanka
Sir Alastair Cook was delighted to watch the poor innings and speaking on BBC Test Match Special said:
“Fair play Ollie Pope, brilliant character. It’s been a tough couple of games with the bat and he’s come through.”
Also, former England captain Michael Vaughan took to the official X goal to praise the batsman. Notably, Vaughan was highly critical of Pope as captain after his failures, calling him an unreliable person who was not good enough to be a full-time captain.
However, Pope shut up his critics, including Michael Vaughan, with his brilliant performance in the third Test against the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team.
“Brilliant 100 from Ollie Pope .. England 221 for 3 .. and off again for bad light .. Seriously Test cricket has a problem,” wrote Michael Vaughan.
Brilliant 100 from Ollie Pope .. England 221 for 3 .. and off again for bad light .. Serious test cricket is in trouble ..
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) September 6, 2024
