England’s stand-in captain Ollie Pope led the way with an unbeaten century as his team ended day one on 221-3 against Sri Lanka at The Oval. The match was delayed due to rain, but Pope ensured that his side had the upper hand at stumps.
Pope’s century was a remarkable achievement, given that he has only played 19 Tests in his career so far. He hit 11 fours in a composed innings that will have delighted England fans. He was ably supported by Dan Lawrence, who scored a fluent 73 before falling to Lasith Embuldeniya.
England started cautiously after winning the toss and opting to bat, with openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley seeing off the new ball. However, Burns was eventually bowled by Sri Lankan spinner Ramesh Mendis for 47. Sibley went on to make 56 before being trapped lbw by Dushmantha Chameera.
Despite these setbacks, England were always in control thanks to Pope’s innings. He batted with great patience and skill to guide his team past 200, with the help of Lawrence and wicketkeeper-batsman James Bracey. The Sri Lankan bowlers toiled hard, but they were unable to dislodge Pope, who finished the day on 135 not out.
Overall, it was a positive start for England in the first Test of a two-match series against Sri Lanka. They will be hoping to build on this solid foundation when play resumes on day two. On the evidence of Pope’s century, they have a captain who is more than capable of leading the team in the absence of regular skipper Joe Root
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