England top-order batter Ollie Pope created history at Lord’s London as he hit the fastest Test double century on England soil from just 207 balls. Pope reached his maiden double Test ton in style with a six off Andy McBrine in the third session on Day 2 of only Test against Ireland.
The previous record belonged to legendary England all-rounder Ian Botham who scored a double ton from 220 balls against India at the Oval in 1982.
However, Pope's double Test ton is not the fastest by an England batter. England Test skipper Ben Stokes scored a double century from just 163 balls against South Africa at Cape Town in 2016.
Overall, Pope's double ton is the seventh fastest in the history of Test cricket. He also became the third batter to score a double century against Ireland after Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis (245) and Nishan Madushka (205).
Pope equals Bradman’s feat
Earlier, Pope had reached his 150 from 166 balls. This is the joint second-fastest 150 at Lord’s. He shares the second place with legendary Australian batter Don Bradman. His teammate Ben Duckett broke Bradman’s record in the second session on Day 2 as he reached 150 from 150 balls.
England batters pile on runs
The 25-year-old scored 205 runs from 208 balls. He got stumped off McBrine's bowling. His 205-run knock from 208 balls was laced with 22 fours and three sixes. As soon as Pope got out, Stokes declared the innings. England posted 524/4 from just 82.4 overs and took a 352-run lead.
Earlier, former England skipper Joe Root became the second England batter to complete 11,000 Test runs. Root scored 56 runs from 59 balls including four fours and one six. Root lost his wicket to McBrine as well.
Duckett scored 182 runs from 178 balls including 24 fours and a six. On Day 1, Zak Crawley scored 45-ball 56 including 11 fours. Ireland were below par with the bat. Stuart Broad's fifer helped England bundle out Ireland for 172 from 56.2 overs.
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