England's Ollie Pope sets Test cricket record unsurpassed by Bradman, Tendulkar and Steve Smith

English batsman Ollie Pope, who replaced the injured Ben Stokes as captain of the Test team, achieved a unique record in the match against Sri Lanka.

Before the match, Pope had only scored 30 runs in four innings. But on this day, Pope was in top form and managed 103 runs in as many balls.

England have already won the three-match Test series after winning the first two matches.

With this ton, the seventh of his Test career, the 26-year-old Pope has now scored each of his previous centuries against a different opponent, achieving a feat unmatched in the 147-year history of Test cricket.

Pope scored his first ton in January 2020 against South Africa (135).

He scored his second ton in January 2022 against New Zealand (145), followed by one in December of the same year against Pakistan (108).

His fourth ton, scored at the legendary Lord's, was also Pope's first double century in Test cricket. In the match against Ireland, he scored 205 from 208 balls.

Pope's fifth ton was against India in Hyderabad. He scored a whopping 196 in January 2024 to help England win by 28 points.

He scored his sixth ton (121) last month against the West Indies in Nottingham.

Pope, under pressure after a series of low scores, silenced his critics with his seventh Test century after Ben Duckett scored a fluent 86 under overcast skies to make Sri Lanka regret their decision to bowl first.

“If a number three doesn't score any runs in two games, there should be no criticism. We all knew his (Pope's) ability and his ability, he just proved that today,” Duckett told the BBC.

“The weather is frustrating. We probably played more cricket than we should have. It was really dark, unfortunately there's not much we can do.”

England, who clinched the series with a comprehensive victory at Lord's last week, had to bat under overcast skies and lost the wicket of Dan Lawrence early on.

With Reuters entries