• Home
  • Match Hub
  • Ollie Pope Scripts History Grabs Unique Test Record Unachieved By Kohli Rohit

Ollie Pope Scripts History; Grabs Unique Test Record Unachieved By Kohli, Rohit

Pope scored his 7th Test century [x] Pope scored his 7th Test century [x]

England's stand-in captain, Ollie Pope scored a sublime century against Sri Lanka on Day 1 of the third Test match at the Oval. This was his seventh Test century, and one, which etches his name in the history books.

Pope, who was captaining in the absence of injured Ben Stokes, struggled for runs in the first two Test matches. Despite England having an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, Pope came into this match with a lot of pressure, considering he had failed in the last four innings.

Pope etches his name in history books with brilliant ton

However, despite a tricky situation on a cloudy morning, Pope batted with a positive mindset and took the attack to the Sri Lankan bowlers. Wickets kept tumbling at the other end, but Pope stood tall and slammed a majestic Test ton, and that too, at a rapid pace. 

In the process, he became the first player in the history of Test cricket to score his first seven Test centuries against seven different countries.

Having made his Test debut against India in 2018, Pope scored his first Test century against South Africa in 2020, and followed it up with a brilliant ton against New Zealand (145), and then brought up his third century against the home team, Pakistan in Rawalpindi.

His fourth Test century came against Ireland (205), which was also his maiden double century. Pope arguably played the innings of his lifetime against India in Hyderabad, when he smacked a match-winning 196 for England.

His last two Test centuries have come against West Indies and now Sri Lanka to cap off a remarkable record.

England bundled out for 325 in first innings

Despite being at a strong position at the end of Day 1, England failed to capitalise on the morning of Day 2, and lost a flurry of wickets. With the weather supporting the bowlers, Sri Lanka made early inroads and took wickets at a rapid pace to knock over England for 325.

Pope, was the highest run-scorer for the English team. The captain, led from the front and scored a brilliant 154 off 156 deliveries.