STAND-in captain Ollie Pope answered his critics with a sparkling century on a truncated first day of England’s third Test against Sri Lanka at The Kia Oval.
Pope looked at ease at the crease in stepping up to replace the injured Ben Stokes, managing only 30 runs in the first two Tests, but found comfort on his home ground to crack an unbeaten 103.
The skipper’s ton led the home side to 221-3, a position of strength they had no business being in after losing the toss and being asked to bat in conditions ideal for bowling.
The grey sky refused to brighten, the floodlights were on all day and there was a lengthy delay for bad light and rain, yet Sri Lanka were incapable of taking advantage.

Pope added 95 for the second wicket with Ben Duckett, who played some breathtaking strokes in 86 from just 79 balls. In a third-wicket stand of 51 between Pope and Joe Root, Root contributed just 13.
Though play could have possibly been extended until 19:30 BST, a battle with the light was always likely and the players were again taken from the field at 17:54 one delivery into the 45th over.
England, 2-0 up, are looking for their second series clean sweep in succession and a first 100 per cent home summer in 20 years.
England shine through Sri Lanka gloom

Sri Lanka’s only previous visit to The Oval, in 1998, produced one of their greatest Test victories, when Muttiah Muralitharan took 16 wickets in the match.
This was an abysmal return, a scruffy end-of-tour performance from a side that have already lost the series. They packed their side with four frontline seamers, yet rarely put the ball in the right place and were often sloppy in the field.
If Sri Lanka were bad, the initial delay for bad light was borderline farcical and reignited the debate about the hesitancy to play Test cricket in gloomy conditions. In the 80 minutes possible in the morning session, England scored at almost a run a ball, so it was hard to make a case the batters were compromised in any way.

The murk and mizzle kept the players off for almost three hours, though the break did little to stall England’s momentum. Duckett was flying and Pope eased into his slipstream.
The ovation when Pope reached his hundred was filled with warmth from a crowd understanding of the scrutiny the Surrey man has been subjected to.
It was another period when the batters looked entirely comfortable, and the joy turned to boos when, shortly after, the players were led off for a second and final time.
Pope’s home comforts

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.
Dazzling Duckett sets tone

England should have been in for a torrid time in the early stages, only for Duckett to cash in on Sri Lanka’s generosity.
If runs for Pope were welcome, then there was no such return for makeshift opener Dan Lawrence. He got into an awful position trying to pull Lahiru Kumara and skied a pull for only five, leaving his place on England’s winter tours in jeopardy.
Pope arrived, Duckett repeatedly scored through the off side and Sri Lanka lost the plot. Captain Dhananjaya de Silva followed the ball, to the extent there were three fielders on the boundary inside the first hour.
Duckett was halted by the first delay, but picked up where he left off on the resumption. An attempted scoop at Kumara flew off an edge for four, a second scoop went for six. The left-hander was on track for the fastest Test hundred by an England opener, only for another scoop at Milan Rathnayake to end in the gloves of Dinesh Chandimal.

Root made two centuries in the second Test at Lord’s and began needing 96 runs to overhaul Sir Alastair Cook as England’s leading run-scorer. His pull to fine leg off Kumara means he must wait a little longer.
Harry Brook, usually an aggressor, was another that played second fiddle to Pope in an unbroken stand of 40 of which Brook has so far made eight. (BBC Sport)