Seven tons v seven teams: Ollie Pope achieves world first with return-to-form hundred

England finished the opening day of the contest on top, with bad light having significantly reduced the amount of play possible in South London. Pope, standing in as captain in Ben Stokes' injury absence, came in during the 10th over of the innings after Dan Lawrence was dismissed by Lahiru Kumara. Wasting no time in getting going, Pope pumped the third ball of his innings to the boundary for four, capitalising on a short, wide delivery from Milan Rathnayake.

He reached his half-century with consecutive boundaries, first top edging a pull-shot for six off Kumara before taking advantage of a misfiled to bring up his 50 off the 58th ball of his innings. He brought up three figures in similarly quick time, driving a full ball to the boundary to reach the milestone off 102 balls.

It was his seventh Test century - and his first on his home ground - and would have been a welcome relief for Pope, who came into the match under some pressure for his lack of recent runs. After he scored 121 and 51 in the same match against West Indies earlier in the summer, Pope had a highest score 17 from his following five Test innings. Having taken the captaincy for the Sri Lanka series, he faced criticism from several quarters, including former England captain Michael Vaughan, over whether he was too "anxious" at the crease and whether the captaincy suited his personality. 

Before the game, Pope vowed to "block out" any criticism. “To be honest, it is just important to block it out and keep staying close with the people around you," he said. "There’s a lot of voices, a lot of guys who want to have their say – some past cricketers as well – and that’s completely fine. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, but it’s important for us as a team and me to stay and keep trusting the people in the four walls, because that’s not going to help me get back into my best form." At The Oval, he delivered in style.

What records did Ollie Pope's Oval century break?

The century Pope scored on day one at The Oval made him the first player ever to score the first seven centuries of his Test career against different oppositions. He notched his maiden hundred in the format back in 2020 against South Africa in Gqeberha, before scoring his first on home soil against New Zealand in the summer of 2022. His third came in England's blitz in the first innings of their memorable Test match against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, and he scored his first double-century against Ireland seven months later. This winter, he scripted a masterclass innings of 196 against India in Hyderabad, before his two over the last couple of months on home soil.

The only side Pope has faced in his 49 Tests who he has not scored a century against is Australia. He will have to wait until at least the end of 2025 to score a hundred against an eighth opposition, with England set to play against Pakistan, New Zealand and India before heading down under for the Ashes.

Full list of Ollie Pope's Test centuries

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