Pope's second century of the summer puts his team in a strong position before bad light stops play on the first day at The Oval
Pope's second century of the summer puts his team in a strong position before bad light stops play on the first day at The Ovallifted the storm clouds gathering over his future at No 3 with a restorative century at a ground he calls home.
He had to wait until after tea to get there, stroking Asitha Fernando through the covers to reach three figures in 102 balls. It saw him become the first England No 3 to hit three centuries in a calendar year since Gary Ballance in 2014.at Trent Bridge in July. It was only five Tests ago, yet a return of 40 runs in five innings since had made the trough in form a valid talking point.
But a period of rain helped conditions to clear and the players were back on after a break of two hours and 50 minutes.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
England vs Sri Lanka: Ollie Pope 'not hiding' from poor form with the batStand-in England captain Ollie Pope says he is “not hiding” from his poor form after a highest score of 17 in his past five Test innings.
Read more »
England v Sri Lanka: Ollie Pope needs to find calm at creaseOllie Pope has done a fine job as England's stand-in captain but must find a serenity to his batting, says Jonathan Agnew.
Read more »
England vs Sri Lanka: Ollie Pope 'not hiding' from poor form with the batStand-in England captain Ollie Pope says he is not “not hiding” from his poor form after a highest score of 17 in his past five Test innings.
Read more »
England v Sri Lanka: Ollie Pope wants to 'reward' his side with runsStand-in captain Ollie Pope wants to 'reward' his England side by scoring runs in the second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's.
Read more »
England v Sri Lanka: Ollie Pope wants to 'reward' his side with runsStand-in captain Ollie Pope wants to 'reward' his England side by scoring runs in the second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's.
Read more »
England vs Sri Lanka: Ollie Pope says hosts still Ben Stokes' team despite injuryOllie Pope says England are still Ben Stokes’ team despite the batter taking charge for the three-Test series against Sri Lanka.
Read more »