Ollie Pope achieves what even Don Bradman couldn't, becomes first batter in Test history to....

England National Cricket Team stand-in Test captain Ollie Pope achieved a monumental milestone in the third and final Test of the series against Sri Lanka National Cricket Team at the Kennington Oval in London on Friday, September 6.

Pope had come under serious pressure after failing to deliver with the bat in the first two Test matches against the Lankan Lions. In the series-opening clash in Manchester, he registered twin 6s, before scoring 1 & 17 in the Lord's Test.

Despite his failures, England managed to win the first two matches to clinch the series and Pope received backing from Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum to bounce back strong.

The batter did exactly that in the third Test and repaid the faith of the team management. Ollie Pope had to come out to bat in the 10th over after Dan Lawrence (5) once again failed to deliver with the bat.

Pope looked focused in the middle while facing Sri Lankan bowlers and he played his natural game. Ollie Pope made sure to punish the bad balls and was at his fluent best while batting.

It was a major relief for him when he completed his half-century off 58 balls, as after that, he looked even more confident and set his sights on the triple-figure landmark. He finally achieved it on the 5th ball of the 44th over by smashing a four to Asitha Fernando.

As Pope completed his ton off 102 balls, he removed his helmet and celebrated passionately as Ben Stokes and others from the England dressing room applauded the batsman.

The moment Ollie Pope went to his SEVENTH Test match hundred 💯 pic.twitter.com/uG9nE9enq6

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 6, 2024

This century was a special one for Pope as not only did it reduce the pressure on him, but it also helped him become the first batter in history to score his first seven Test hundreds against seven different opposition. Also, this was his first ton as captain and at home.

Ollie Pope Creates History With His 7th Test Ton

Pope has now smashed his tons in Test cricket against South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan, Ireland, India, West Indies, and Sri Lanka.

Pope's Centuries In Test Cricket:

135* vs South Africa

145 vs New Zealand

108 vs Pakistan

205 vs Ireland

196 vs India

121 vs West Indies

103* vs Sri Lanka

Looking at Poor hitting ton, Sir Alastair Cook was elated and speaking on BBC Test Match Special, he stated:

"Fair play Ollie Pope, brilliant character. It has been a tough two games with the bat and he's fought through it."

Also, former England captain Michael Vaughan took to his official X handle to praise the batsman. Notably, Vaughan was very critical of Pope as captain after his failures and called him an insecure person, who isn't good enough to become the full-time captain.

However, Pope has shut down his critics, including Michael Vaughan, with his brilliant performance in the third Test against Sri Lanka National Cricket Team.

"Brilliant 100 from Ollie pope .. England 221 for 3 .. and off again for bad light .. Seriously Test cricket has a problem," Michael Vaughan wrote.

Brilliant 100 from Ollie pope .. England 221 for 3 .. and off again for bad light .. Seriously Test cricket has a problem ..

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) September 6, 2024