England's Ollie Pope capitalized on his fortune, scoring 121 and propelling the hosts to a swift 416 all out on the opening day of the second Test against West Indies at Trent Bridge on Thursday. Pope was let off on 46 and 54, but he managed to compile his sixth Test century, building on Ben Duckett's vibrant 71 in the morning session to secure a commanding position.
"A really good day. The way we approached it, being asked to bat and posting 416 on the board is a really strong performance," Pope shared with the BBC. "I'm pleased to reach the century mark and make it meaningful."
England started poorly with Zak Crawley dismissed by the third ball of the match, caught at slip by Alick Athanaze off Alzarri Joseph. However, Duckett quickly found his rhythm, hitting four consecutive boundaries and reaching his half-century off just 32 balls. He was poised for his fourth Test century until he mishit a full ball from Shamar Joseph, resulting in a low catch to Jason Holder at second slip.
Pope, who was missed by Athanaze at gully just before lunch, could have also been caught by Holder after the break. Meanwhile, Joe Root, on 14, attempted a pull off Jayden Seales and ended up top-edging a catch to Alzarri Joseph. Harry Brook advanced to 36, including a six over backward point, before he edged a paddle sweep off spinner Kevin Sinclair to Kirk McKenzie at short leg, celebrating with a backward somersault.
Pope's confidence soared as he reached his century with a sharp four through square leg, removing his helmet and acknowledging the crowd. He was eventually caught by Kavem Hodge off Alzarri Joseph, but captain Ben Stokes found his batting form, hitting eight fours in his 69 before being caught off part-time spinner Hodge. Jamie Smith (36) and Chris Woakes (37) contributed lower down the order, and England is optimistic about capitalizing on their strong start to lead the series 2-0 following their innings victory in the first Test at Lord's.
"I think we performed brilliantly," West Indies' Sinclair commented. "However, we let Pope off a couple of times and he scored a hundred, which hurt us. We did well to bowl them out. Too many runs in the end, but it was a good day for our team."
