England's bowling all-rounder Gus Atkinson created history on Day 2 of the second Test at Lord's London. Atkinson became the ninth England batter to score a century at no.8 in the format. His 118-run knock is the joint third-highest for a no.8 England batter.
Atkinson had a chance to break Henry Wood's 132-year-old record of an unbeaten 134 against South Africa in Cape Town. In 1963, Colin Cowdrey had a chance to break Wood's record as he remained unbeaten for 128 against New Zealand in Wellington. In the 21st century, wicketkeeper-batter Matt Prior came close to breaking the record when he scored 118 against Australia in Sydney in 2011.
Atkinson is the sixth no.8 batter to score a Test century against Sri Lanka. Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori holds the record for highest score by a no.8 batter against Sri Lanka. He scored 140 in Colombo in 2009.
Atkinson is also the first England batter at no.8 to score a century against Sri Lanka in the format. The previous best belonged to Chris Woakes. He scored 66 runs at the same venue in 2016.
Close to breaking 51-year-old record
Atkinson bagged another record as his 118 is the highest by a no.8 England batter at the Lord's. The previous best of 113 belonged to Richard Illingworth. He scored 113 against West Indies in 1969. Atkinson needed a few more runs to break the record for highest score at this position at the Lord's. West Indies' Bernard Julien scored 121 against England in 1973.
Atkinson’s dream comes true
Atkinson was thrilled after his 115-ball 118 which was laced with 14 fours and four sixes. He helped England post 427 despite Joe Root going back to the pavilion when the score was 308.
"It's amazing. As a boy growing up, I always dreamt of getting on the Lord's honours board. To be honest, I never thought I'll be up there for a hundred. So to be up there is special," the 26-year-old told ECB.
"It's hard to choose between the two but to score a Test century at Lord's, it felt like...you're out there for three hours and whatever, and it's a long process scoring a hundred. And obviously I'm more of a bowler. So to be up there for batting, it's very special," he added.
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