Atkinson’s All-Round Heroics Secure Series Win for England
On the final day of the second Test against Sri Lanka, England’s stand-in captain Ollie Pope paid tribute to Gus Atkinson, whose all-round heroics secured a series win for the hosts. Atkinson, the player of the match, first scored a maiden Test century on the second day and then followed it up with a five-wicket haul on the fourth day, joining elite company as only the third England player to achieve the feat of a hundred and a five-fer in the same men’s Test.
“He’s obviously smashed it so far in his Test career,” Pope said of the 26-year-old Atkinson, who now boasts impressive averages of 18.06 with the ball and 32.66 with the bat in his five-Test career.
Lord’s, with its challenging slope, has proven to be a particularly happy hunting ground for Atkinson, who claimed 12 wickets on his Test debut here against the West Indies.
“I think, especially with the Lord’s slope, that’s something where you can challenge both edges,” Pope explained. “And I’d say that’s why he’s had so much success here. Anyone who’s operating towards that 90mph mark with a bit of swing … I’m sure people have seen he bowls a heavy wobble ball, which finds a bit of nip as well.”
Atkinson himself acknowledged that he had felt more energized in this match compared to the previous series against the West Indies, where he felt “mentally fried” after the Hundred tournament. “But today I felt like I had more energy, so I bowled a lot better and could back that up in the second innings,” he said.
Pope described England’s performance in wrapping up the series against Sri Lanka in just eight days as “very pleasing,” adding: “As a team it’s exactly what we want to be like. We want to drive forward our good positions into great positions.”
While Pope’s personal batting form has attracted plenty of discussion since taking over the captaincy, the stand-in skipper said it was important to “block it out and keep close with the people around you. There’s a lot of voices, a lot of guys who want to have their say, some past cricketers as well.”
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