Key events
Read Ali Martin’s day one report
The Oval is Ollie Pope’s happy place, however, where everything is familiar and comfortable and his first-class numbers are celestial. And as he slotted Asitha Fernando through the covers moments before the early finish, England’s stand-in skipper had Test century number seven. Remarkably, he is the first player in history to get their first seven against different opposition.
Preamble
Morning. On the first day of the 1989 Ashes, Australia were put into bat and finished on 207 for 3. It was a similar story yesterday: England, inserted by Sri Lanka, reached 221 for 3 at the close. There was only one minor difference: Australia batted for 81 overs, England for 44.1 overs. Truly, the game has changed, and even half a day’s play was sufficient for England to take control of the match.
Ollie Pope made a breezy, charming hundred, the first by a stand-in England captain since 2010, but the catalyst was the remarkable Ben Duckett. He missed with Sri Lanka’s heads and then their line during a defiantly unconventional innings of 86 from 79 balls. Sri Lanka, who won what looked an extremely important toss, were on the back foot within five overs.
The weather forecast is better today, so batting should be slightly more comfortable. Pope will resume on 103, with Harry Brook on 8 at the other end. Three of Pope’s last four centuries have exceeded 140; if he gets through the first 20 balls, he has a great chance to go big again.
