Ollie Pope is being trained by Joe Root on the job

• Ollie Pope expressed his “relief” after scoring his second Test century.
• He also paid tribute to Joe Root, his 187-run.
• Root was quick to embrace Pope when he reached the milestone

Ollie Pope expressed his “relief” after scoring his second Test century, and first on home soil, in the second Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, saying he wished his innings of 145 would be the beginning of a more consistent period of run-scoring for England after a difficult 18 months.

He also paid tribute to Joe Root, his 187-run partner during England’s response to New Zealand’s daunting first innings total of 553.

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Root was quick to embrace Pope when he reached the milestone shortly after lunch, before going on to score his second century in as many innings, fourth of the year, and tenth since January 2021, prompting Pope to call him “England’s greatest-ever” batter.

Pope was recalled to the side at Lord’s last week after being dropped following the 2021-22 Ashes, and he was also promoted to No. 3 – a position he had never batted in first-class cricket before. His century was his second in Tests, his first since January 2020, and came nearly four years after he made his debut.

“It hasn’t been the easiest ride over the last year or so,” Pope said. “A few tough tours away, didn’t play a massive amount last summer.

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England’s aggression, first during a 141-run stand between Pope and Alex Lees – who scored his first Test half-century – and then during the third-wicket association between Pope and Root

“The good thing at Trent Bridge is the outfield is rapid so it’s amazing to bat on,” Pope said

While Pope’s progress to his hundred was accompanied by the odd flutter of nerves – even on such a docile pitch – Root’s progress to three figures had a far jauntier air about it.

When asked about the experience of batting alongside Root, Pope said, “We’re seeing England’s greatest ever.” “You don’t necessarily want to replicate what he does, but you want to learn as much as you can from him.” Whether that’s him throwing balls at you at the end of the session for 20 minutes.