Realistically, Pope’s place in the team was never under pressure. He made a century and two half-centuries against West Indies earlier in the summer, while England have a successful policy of giving their players long-term backing.
Still, his methods have come into question. When he gets runs, he is praised for being busy, but that busyness can become frenetic, especially at the start of his innings. Perhaps the captaincy was a burden too far.
At The Oval, Pope is peerless. His first-class average on this ground before this match was 81 and when he got off the mark with a crisp cut for four, it seemed destined to be his day.
Pope continued to pounce on any width, peppering the point boundary, while also pulling two sixes.
He survived a Sri Lanka review for a catch down the leg side on 89, then reached three figures with a square drive off Asitha Fernando. Pope punched the air and lapped up the applause, then saluted the England dressing room.
His ton from 102 deliveries is the second-fastest by an England captain, behind a 95-ball effort by Graham Gooch, while Pope is the first Test batter to score his first seven hundreds against seven different opponents.
