English batter and captain Ollie Pope has done wonders in the match being played between England and Sri Lanka at The Oval. Pope batted like an ODI on the first day against Sri Lanka. He created a storm by scoring a brilliant century.
By the end of the first day’s play, Pope has scored 103 runs in 103 balls with 10 fours and 2 sixes. With this brilliant century, Pope has got his name registered in Test history. He has made a big record in Tests.
Ollie Pope – The first batter in history to score his first seven Test hundreds against different opposition.
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 6, 2024
Take a bow, Ollie 🤝 pic.twitter.com/37hYVSfiN2
Also Read: Mark Wood Ruled Out For A Year Due To An Injury
First Player To Score A Century For 7 Different Teams
Ollie Pope has become the first player in Test history to score his first 7 centuries against 7 different teams. No batter has done this in Test cricket so far. Pope has scored 7 centuries against South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan, Ireland, India, West Indies and Sri Lanka.
The 26-year-old player has scored 7 centuries and 13 half-centuries in 86 innings of 49 matches. His average in Tests is 34.00. Pope has not yet made his ODI and T20 debut.
The moment Ollie Pope went to his SEVENTH Test match hundred 💯 pic.twitter.com/uG9nE9enq6
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 6, 2024
The special thing is that Pope failed miserably in the first two matches against Sri Lanka. He was out after scoring 6 runs in the first innings of the first match and 6 in the second, while he was out after scoring 1 in the first innings of the second match and 17 in the second, but in the third match he made a tremendous comeback and scored a brilliant century.
Stand-In Skipper For Stokes
Let us tell you that Ollie Pope is the 82nd player to captain England in Tests. He is captaining England in place of Ben Stokes. Stokes was injured during The Hundred tournament. Due to this, he is out of the Test series against Sri Lanka.
Match Scenario
Talking about the match, the first day’s play was called off due to poor light. England has scored 221 runs after losing 3 wickets in 44.1 overs. Apart from Pope, opener Ben Duckett also played a brilliant innings. He scored 86 runs in 79 balls with 9 fours and 2 sixes.
However, Joe Root, who was in good form, did not perform well. Root was out after scoring 13 runs in 48 balls. Dan Lawrence scored 5 runs. Harry Brook is unbeaten after scoring 8 runs.