Ollie Pope Becomes 1st Cricketer To Score 7 Test Centuries Against Seven Different Teams

Stand-in captain Ollie Pope scored an unbeaten century for England on Day 1 of the ongoing third Test against Sri Lanka at the Oval. The right-handed batter, who is leading England in the absence of injured Ben Stokes in the three-match series, achieved a rare feat in Test cricket with his seventh century in the 49th match on Friday.

The 26-year-old cricketer became the first player in the history of Test cricket to score his first seven centuries against seven different teams. Pope, who made his Test debut for England against India at the Lord’s on August 9, 2018, smashed his first Test century against South Africa in Gqeberha on January 17, 2020. In that match, he remained unbeaten on 135 runs from 226 balls in the first inning and helped his side win the match by an innings and 53 runs.

His second Test hundred (145) was against New Zealand in Nottingham on June 12, 2022, and his third century came in the match against Pakistan at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on December 1, 2022. He amassed a total of 108 runs from just 104 balls for the Ben Stokes-led side against Babar Azam & Co.

Pope, who bats at No. 3 for England, scored his fourth, fifth, and sixth Test centuries against Ireland (205), India (196), and the West Indies (121), respectively.

Ollie Pope’s Test centuries

The right-handed batter was the top scorer for England in the second innings of the first Test of the five-match series played between India and England in Hyderabad in January 2024. Thanks to his 196-run knock, England managed to post a total of 420 runs in the second innings and set up a target of 231 runs for India to win, which the Rohit Sharma-led side failed to achieve and went on to lose the match by 28 runs.

2nd fastest century by England captain

Pope crossed the 100-run mark in just 102 balls on Friday, which also helped him score the second-fastest hundred in Test cricket by an England captain. Graham Gooch, who led England in 34 Tests during his playing days, sits in the No. 1 position. The former right-handed batter completed his century in 95 balls against India at Lord’s in 1990.