Srinagar: England batter Ollie Pope has done what even legends of the game like Sir Don Bradman or Sachin Tendulkar couldnt achieve.
Going under rough patch recently, having scored mere 30 runs in previous four innings, Pope on Friday’s opening day of the third Test against Sri Lanka scored run-a-ball 103 not out, with England well-placed on 221-3.
It was Pope’s seventh seventh century in Test cricket. Interestingly, each of his first seven centuries came against different opponents – a first in the 147-year history of Test cricket.
Meanwhile Sri Lanka, already 2-0 down in this three-match series, failed to make the most of overcast conditions and a green-tinged pitch after captain Dhananjaya de Silva won the toss.
And England should arguably have had another century-maker on Friday, with opener Ben Duckett, not for the first time, giving his wicket away after making 86.
Duckett praised his skipper for ignoring the comments from the likes of former England captain Michael Vaughan, who questioned whether Pope could cope with the competing demands of leadership and batting at No 3.
“It shouldn’t be the case but there has been quite a lot of noise around Popey in the last couple of weeks,” Duckett told reporters after stumps.
“To block that out and score an incredible hundred was so good,” he added following Pope’s 12th first-class hundred on his Surrey home ground.