London [UK], July 31 (ANI): England stand-in captain Ollie Pope finally broke his dreadful streak of missing the mark while exercising the option to review after hitting the bullseye in 14 attempts during the opening hour of the fifth Test against India at Old Trafford.
In the absence of tearaway Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, returning to the Test fold for the first time since May, rattled India’s top order with his blistering pace. With an inward angling delivery and a hint of movement, Atkinson struck Yashasvi Jaiswal just below the knee-roll of his pads.
There were two sounds, and the England players were confused. The opinion was split, with players voicing their opinions, but Pope decided to trust his instincts, which left Ben Duckett less than pleased. Even designated captain Ben Stokes appeared confused before switching his eyes to see the replay.
During the check, the ball cleanly whistled past Jaiswal’s bat and his fate was sealed. Three reds appeared on the screen, and Pope raised his hands in the air to celebrate the moment, while Stokes burst into laughter and applauded as the southpaw returned cheaply on 2(9).
This was Pope’s 14th review as captain while fielding, and the first one he has called right. Out of 14, 12 were struck down, and one ended up being an umpire’s call.
Former cricketer-turned-commentator Michael Atherton beamed with delight and said, as quoted from Sky Sports, “His holiness, the Pope has called it right. His eyes are better than ours. There were two noises, but it was pad, pad. After reviewing terribly as a stand-in last summer, he has got this right.”
India was jolted once again after Chris Woakes lured KL Rahul to chop the ball back onto the stumps, sending all of his hard work down the slumps, forcing him to return on 14(40). He tried to cut the ball away but diverted it straight towards the timber. (ANI)
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