Pope talks sixth Test ton, Sinclair explains 'trademark' somersault celebration

Ollie Pope, England's batsman, expressed that the good fortune he experienced while scoring a century in the second Test against the West Indies on Thursday compensated for a slow start to his county season.

Pope was the top-scorer with 121, his sixth Test century, as England posted a total of 416 on a lively first day in Nottingham. During his innings, he was dropped twice on 46 and 54 by Alick Athanaze and Jason Holder.

"I'm pleased with my performance, and the couple of drops were definitely a bonus," said Pope, who plays for Surrey, the English county champions. "No one intentionally drops catches, but cricket has its ups and downs. Luck wasn't on my side in the county games."

Pope admitted that he didn't have doubts but sometimes wondered why others were scoring heavily in county cricket while he, England's number three, wasn't averaging 50 this summer. "That's just how cricket is. You aim to score a hundred every time, but it doesn't always happen."

Pope also credited Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, who was present at Trent Bridge on Thursday, as his "lucky charm." A friend and fellow Gunners fan, Ramsdale was in the crowd when Pope scored a double century against Ireland at Lord's last year. "I'm a big Arsenal fan and often support Ramsdale. He seems to bring me luck on the cricket field too! He's been to two of my games, and in one of them, I scored 200. It seems whenever he's there, I get runs, so I hope he comes more often."

For the West Indies, a rare highlight on a challenging day came from Kevin Sinclair, who celebrated Harry Brook's dismissal with a spectacular somersault.

The Guyanese off-spinner, called into the team on Thursday morning after Gudakesh Motie withdrew due to illness, explained, "That's my trademark celebration from back home. I started practicing it at eight years old in my back garden. I've perfected it over the years, and now I do it whenever I take a wicket."