ENG vs SL: Ollie Pope breaks new ground in Tests, achieves distinguished feat after impressive display at The Oval

Other than Ben Ducket's rapid-fire 79-ball 86-run knock which took the game away from Sri Lanka's hands at the Kennington Oval in the third and final game of the Test series between England and Sri Lanka, the key figure of the day who grabbed the headlines was stand-in skipper, Ollie Pope, who registered a solid century under grey skies and a nippy deck.

If one thought the conditions were what made the century noteworthy, it is only partially correct. In fact, the overhauling factor that made the century remarkable was not just the context of Pope's performance in isolation. He was personally under scrutiny, being labeled an "insecure person" and an unsuitable captain by former English skipper, Michael Vaughan. This judgment came just over a week back, following a lean patch in the red-ball format with scores reading 10, 6, 6, and 1 in his previous innings. Additionally, another erstwhile English captain Eoin Morgan had questioned one of his on-field decisions in the second game.

Despite these hurdles which could've easily played on the minds of a lot of other cricketers, the Chelsea-born batter brought up a historic milestone by becoming the first-ever batter in Test cricket history to register a seventh Test century against a different Test nation.  

Also Read: I'd be happy to be proven wrong on Ollie Pope's captaincy: Michael Vaughan

The 26-year-old who burst onto the international scene in 2018 after a belligerent 986-run season in just 16 innings in the 2018 edition of Division 1 of the County Championship for Surrey, registered his first century against the Proteas in a match he was adjudged the Player of the Match for his magnificent 135* as well as holding onto six catches. He brought up his second Test ton after a period of a little above 29 months against the Kiwis.

His third one was his first on away soil, which came against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. The next one that followed was Pope's first double-ton which he achieved against Ireland at the Home of Cricket. The 196-run knock that followed has probably been Pope's grittiest till now, having come against an all-star Indian attack on a sluggish Hyderabad pitch. Batting for a total of 373 minutes under the scorching heat, it was truly a knock to marvel for the ages.

His sixth century came against the West Indies in an inning where the second-highest run-getter was Ben Stokes with 69, as Pope held his own style in a marvelous display of batting as he secured 121 to his name. And finally, the seventh ton came against Sri Lanka yesterday, with him bringing up the feat with an expertly guided square drive to end Day 1 on an unbeaten run-a-ball 103*. 

To furnish additional context, Quinton de Kock of South Africa is the only player to have scored six Test tons against different red-ball-playing nations, making Pope's accomplishment a truly distinctive one.