Ollie Pope was dismissed for yet another low score on day three of the Lord’s Test between England and Sri Lanka.
Pope's poor run of form continued after another failure with the bat in England’s second innings of the match. Having stepped in for an injured Ben Stokes as England’s captain for the series, Pope came in to bat today with three consecutive single-digit scores – 6,6,1 – behind him.
With England ahead by 300 runs, Sri Lanka set a trap for him, positioning three fielders on the leg side boundary. Fast-bowler Asitha Fernando bowled it in short, tempting Pope to hit through the vacant off-side. The stand-in England skipper played an upper cut but holed it to the deep point fielder, perishing for a 38-ball 17.
That was not the first time Sri Lanka were street-smart in executing their plans to entrap Pope. In the Old Trafford Test, the visitors’ captain, Dhananjaya de Silva’s ploy to dismiss the right-hand batter with another tactical masterstroke received high praise.
Pope’s lack of form with the bat has come under scrutiny during this Test, with former England captain Michael Vaughan being the most vocal critic.
Virat Kohli 🇮🇳
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Joe Root 🏴
Steve Smith 🇦🇺
Kane Williamson 🇳🇿
10 years ago, the late Martin Crowe first coined the term "Fab Four" – a talented young batting quartet that he predicted would achieve Test greatness 🔮
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Advantage England
England went to lunch with a 390-run lead, with Jamie Smith (23* off 23) and Joe Root (45* off 58) batting together. However, at the start of the second session, England lost Smith for 26. The hosts are in the driver's seat, owing to an impressive first innings batting display. Root starred with a 206-ball 143, while Gus Atkinson, coming in at eight, struck a blazing 118 to join an elite all-round club in record time. In response, Sri Lanka managed only 196.
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