Ben Duckett hails Ollie Pope after England captain blocks out 'noise' with superb century against Sri Lanka

Ben Duckett hailed Ollie Pope for quieting the “noise” around his interim captaincy with an “incredible” hundred on the opening day of the Third Test at Kia Oval.

Pope is deputising for the injured Ben Stokes during the three matches against Sri Lanka and is already assured of a series victory, having led England to wins at Old Trafford and Lord’s last month.

The Surrey batter’s own form, however, had taken a dip. He made just 30 runs across four innings in those two matches and admitted he had found it difficult to juggle the twin responsibilities of captaining the side and batting at No3.

On his home ground, though, Pope roared back to form, stroking an unbeaten 103 from as many balls before bad light forced an early stumps, with England in a strong position on 221 for three having lost the toss.

“There’s been a lot of noise around Popey,” Duckett said. “To block that out and go and score an incredible hundred today was so good.

“People are paid to give their opinion and that’s completely fair enough. But to go two games without a big score is not a long time. Facing the new ball in England, I know how tricky it can be.

"For Popey to go out and there and express himself at a ground he loves is a credit to him.”

Duckett himself made an entertaining 86 from just 79 balls and was looking on course to make his fourth Test hundred when he was out playing the scoop.

While soft, the shot had brought the opener two boundaries earlier in the session and he insisted he had no regrets about the manner of his dismissal.

“When you play like that for a period you can’t really kick yourself,” he said. “I’ve obviously missed out on a Test hundred there and no one’s more disappointed than I am but I got form 50 to 86 playing that way.

“It might be a learning day for me but it’s a shot I’ve been thinking about playing in Test cricket for a long time.”

Despite the entertainment on offer from Pope and Duckett, there was frustration at the Oval at a lengthy delay in the middle of the day, owing mainly to bad light.

The umpires took the players off the field shortly after midday because of concerns over visibility and did not return until almost three hours later, albeit with rain also playing its part.

Stumps was also called early because of the fading light, with just 44.1 overs possible, less than half of the day’s allocation. Duckett, however, defended the decision, which was met with boos from a near-capacity crowd.

“I think they saw quite a good day’s cricket in the short amount of time there was!” he added. “That’s living in England and playing in cricket in England.

“It’s very easy to sit there as a supporter and want to see more cricket but if it does get really dark and more dangerous then we’re the ones out there playing.

“When the lights are on and the ball’s nipping around a bit, the umpires have taken us off and we’re going to have to go by their rules.”