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England opener Ben Duckett lauded stand-in captain Ollie Pope for overcoming all the noise and hitting back at the critics by notching up a statement hundred on Day 1 of the third Test against Sri Lanka at The Oval. The southpaw said he is surprised by the noise at Pope's form despite having a more productive summer than him.
Pope was under pressure heading into the final Test of the series against Sri Lanka after registering scores of 6, 6, 1, and 17 in the opening two matches. However, the 26-year-old registered a brisk ton, getting to the three-figure mark with a boundary. He also became the first cricketer in history to score seven centuries against seven different oppositions.
Speaking after Day 1 of the final Test against Sri Lanka, Duckett said, as quoted by Sky Sports:
"Everyone's so happy for anyone's success in this dressing room. It is an incredible place to be. There shouldn't be but there has been lots of noise. He has had a better summer than I have and to block that out and score an incredible 100 was so good, you could see that from his emotions."
The stand-in captain joined hands with Duckett and stitched together a breezy 95-run stand as England powered through despite a start-stop day. The hosts reached 221-3 in 44.1 overs on the opening day.
"When you are bowling at batters like him you have to get it right early" - Stuart Broad on Ollie Pope
Speaking to Sky Sports, former England seamer Stuart Broad feels playing on his home ground has allowed Pope to emerge from his struggles and observed how dangerous the right-hander can be after getting set.
"Most importantly for him, he came back to The Oval. I think when you are struggling for a bit of form or rhythm, come back home at a place where he bats so well. He averages 80 here, he is so good in these conditions. If he could have wished to bat anywhere today, even in these conditions, it would have been The Oval," Broad elaborated.
"He is a high-quality player, plays beautiful shots, and when you are bowling at batters like him you have to get it right early. He was averaging seven and all the talk was about him. Now it won't be," he added.
England have already claimed the three-match series against Sri Lanka with a game to spare.
