Ollie Pope was eyeing his first century as England captain after making a solid fifty on a rain-affected opening day of the third Test against Sri Lanka at The Oval on Friday.
Despite the interruptions, England managed to take control of the match, ending the day at 194-3.
England, aiming for a series whitewash, found themselves in a strong position after losing the toss. The day’s play was heavily impacted by weather conditions, but not before opener Ben Duckett dazzled with a brisk 86. Duckett, who had been in fine form, contributed significantly before falling to a careless shot.
Pope, batting on his home ground of Surrey, was unbeaten on 84 off just 85 balls. This innings was particularly notable as he had struggled with just 30 runs across four previous innings since taking over the captaincy from the injured Ben Stokes.
A brief highlight for Sri Lanka came with the dismissal of Joe Root, who was out for 13 shortly before tea. Root, who had recently achieved a remarkable feat by scoring two hundreds in England's 190-run victory at Lord's and setting a new England record of 34 Test centuries, was dismissed by Vishwa Fernando.
England, already 2-0 up in the three-match series, are seeking to complete their first home Test campaign clean sweep since 2004. Sri Lanka’s captain Dhananjaya de Silva won the toss and opted to field, hoping the overcast conditions would benefit his pace attack.
Duckett quickly made his mark, scoring a swift fifty off just 48 balls with seven boundaries. However, his innings ended at 86 when he mishit a scoop off Milan Rathnayake to wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal. Pope’s innings featured a top-edged six and he reached his fifty off 58 balls with a mix of boundaries and big hits.
The match was interrupted by bad light and rain, with play resuming only after a significant delay. Despite the challenging conditions, Pope and Duckett built a solid partnership of 95 runs in 16 overs before Duckett’s dismissal.
With a victory at The Oval, England could achieve a rare home clean sweep, a feat last accomplished under Michael Vaughan’s captaincy 20 years ago.
