Image source: Ollie Pope Twitter/ X handle (OPope32)
After coming in to bat at 45/1, Ollie Pope built a good 95-run partnership for the second wicket alongside Ben Duckett before the latter fell for 86(79). He went on to add another 51 and 70 runs with Joe Root and Harry Brook.
While stitching three back-to-back fifty-run stands, Pope also completed his personal milestones of a century a 150 while batting Chris Woakes. He finished his knock with almost run-a-ball 154(156).
With this century, on Friday, September 6, Ollie Pope became the first ever Test player to score his first seven centuries against seven different opponents in the third Test at The Oval between England and Sri Lanka while leading the team in the absence of injured Ben Stokes.
After bursting onto the international scene in 2018 at The Lord’s against India, when he was rather green, Pope showed some promise with his approach and fairly sound technique. He looked set to become the next big thing for England cricket.
He scored his first Test century in his third series, on the tour of South Africa where he scored 135*(226) while helping England reach 499/9 (dec). England subsequently won the game by an innings and 53 runs. Pope looked like he had arrived.
In the next 6 series and 31 innings, he only added 3 fifties to his name including just 67 runs in 3 Tests in an away Ashes tour. However, England showed faith in him and kept backing him. He eventually also became the vice-captain under the new leadership of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes.
In the next 16 innings, he scored another 2 centuries against New Zealand (145) at home and against Pakistan (108) in the away tour while adding 5 fifties to his name. Yet again it felt like he was getting into the groove but yet again, he had another sub-par series when England toured New Zealand, scoring just 115 runs in 4 innings.
He started the next English summer with a bang and scored a double hundred against Ireland but when the Ashes started, he just managed to score 90 runs in the 4 innings including a 42.
At the start of 2024, England toured India and with all the hype around the series and how England was playing with McCullum at the helm, it looked like England’s best chance to break India’s 11-year streak of not losing a home series and in the first Test in Hyderabad, Pope once again showed why he was being backed so much.
Ollie Pope scored 196 in the second innings which eventually helped England win the Test by 28 runs. Once again when it felt like the 26-year-old had arrived, he went on to disappoint again as he just managed to score 119 runs in the rest of the remaining 8 innings without even scoring a fifty.
Indian fans vividly remember Pope for being one of Bumrah’s bunnies. From the crucial dismissals in India’s tour of England in 2021 to get out to him on a toe-crushing yorker in Vishakhapatnam, he just averages 17.2 against the Indian pacer while getting out 5 times.
As another home season started, Pope scored another century- 121 against West Indies backed by 51 in the second innings. But, like the trend of his career, he scored 10, 6, 6, 1 and 17 in the next 5 innings before again scoring a century- 154 against Sri Lanka at The Oval and reaching the aforementioned unprecedented record.
For a player of his calibre and class that he oozes, Pope just averages 35.5 after 49 Tests and 86 innings, which can be labelled as insipid.
But as they say, true inspiration lies within. Time for Pope to dig deep?
