On May 22, 2025, during the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge, England’s vice-captain Ollie Pope achieved a remarkable milestone by becoming the first batter in Test cricket history to score each of his first eight centuries against eight different opponents.
Match Highlights:
Ollie Pope’s Innings: Pope delivered an unbeaten 169 runs off 163 balls, showcasing aggressive and fluent batting that epitomized England’s ‘Bazball’ approach.
Top-Order Dominance: England’s top three—Zak Crawley (124), Ben Duckett (140), and Ollie Pope (169*)—each scored centuries, marking the first time the same trio has achieved this feat twice in Test history, the previous instance being against Pakistan in 2022.
Team Performance: England ended Day One with a formidable total of 498/3, reflecting their aggressive batting strategy and dominance over Zimbabwe’s bowling attack .
