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Pope, Duckett shines on opening day at Oval Test.
Pope, Duckett shines on opening day at Oval Test.
Ollie Pope Hundred & Duckett's fine 89 steers rain-affected day England's way. Ollie Pope scored his seventh Test century.
Ollie Pope's seventh Test Century and fine 89 runs knock by Ben Duckett England's dominance on the first day of the third Test against Sri Lanka at The Oval on Friday. Only 4.1 overs were bowled after Tea with England rattling off 27 runs that included Pope's century milestone before bad light forced the umpires to take the players off for one last time in the day.
Given the conditions, Sri Lanka would rue their bowling effort as there were far too many loose balls. England feasted on anything remotely wayward and Duckett's onslaught in the first two sessions scarred Sri Lanka's bowlers. The left-hander played adventurously in the opening hour and soon settled into his aggressive best with authoritative shots square of the wicket on both sides. As he grew in confidence, out came his signature scoop shot that he played with frequent nonchalance although it was the same stroke that eventually brought about his downfall.
Sri Lanka then managed to get the in-form Joe Root cheaply after what was an unusually scratchy innings from England's no.4. But Pope kept motoring along at rapid pace to keep England's charge going with a blend of classy and crunchy strokes. Whenever the pacers hit their straps in terms of lines and lengths, there was life in the pitch to trouble the batters but Sri Lanka were far too inconsistent to be a regular threat on the opening day. Unless the visitors pull up their socks and produce a dramatic fightback early on day two, Pope's men might get to a total that would be daunting.
Rain and bad light caused significant havoc on the opening day with a combined tally of just 16.1 overs being bowled across the first and third sessions. The forecast for the remainder of the Test isn't encouraging either but England's rapid rate of scoring means that the game will move forward at a quicker pace, especially given the spicy nature of the pitch.
England Playing XIs: Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (C), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Olly Stone, Shoaib Bashir, Josh Hull
Sri Lanka Playing XIs : Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva (C), Kamindu Mendis, Milan Rathnayake, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Asitha Fernando
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