Word with Ben helps Pope 100
(7) A M Thomson 10 12-1 (D2)
(21) N Alexander 11 11-12 (BF, C3, D)..
(17) Ronan McNally (IRE) 11 11-11
(20) N Alexander 11 11-6 (C2)
(37) Kenny Johnson 9 11-6 (D)
(21) M Todhunter 8 11-6 (CD) (17)TristanDavidson1211-4(C2).HReed(3)
(479) Miss L Russell 10 11-4 (CD)
(17) I Duncan 8 11-2 (CD)
(17) I Duncan 11 10-7 (D)
BETTING: 2 Aloomomo, 11-2 Talkofgold, 6 Calivigny, 7 Casual Cavalier, 8 Craiganboy, 10 Shanroe Street, 12 Imperial Prince, 14 Strong Economy, 16 Others.
7-2 In touch, disputed lead 4th, led narrowly 8th, made rest, jumped right from 2 out, soon clear, ridden out, won at Kelso 2m 6f hcp chs 0-120 (4) hvy beating Up Helly Aa King by 11l, 8 ran.
11-2 Led until 1st, disputed 2nd until not fluent 4th, reminders after 8th, not fluent 10th or 12th, kept on flat, went 2nd towards finish, no impression on winner, 2nd of 8, 3 1/2l behind Iwilldoit at Kelso 2m 6f nov hcp chs 0-125 (3) sft in Dec. 11-8fav Prominent, not fluent 3rd, led 14th, not fluent and headed 5 out, led 4 out, headed approaching last, weakened flat, 5th of 6, 15l behind Samstown at Kelso 3m 2f Amateur Handicap Chase (0-120) (4yo+) (4) sft in Dec. 4-1 Tracked leaders, driven into 2nd before 2 out, ridden after next, kept on same pace, no impression with winner before last, 2nd of 5, 9l behind Ard Chros at Ayr 2m hcp chs 0-115 (4) sft.
OLLIE Pope revealed how a word of encouragement from Ben Stokes to take a late gamble on DRS allowed him to bring up his maiden Test century in Port Elizabeth.
Pope, 22, confirmed his reputation as a likely star of the future with a brilliant 135 not out on day two of the third Test against South Africa.
He put on 203 alongside Stokes, who crashed his way to 120 in a declaration total of 499 for nine.
However, it might have been a different story had he not reviewed an lbw just before lunch, with the Surrey batsman ready to accept his fate on 74 only to change his mind after a last-gasp shout from Stokes.
“When Stokesy told me to review with two seconds left I thought it was clutching at straws a bit,” admitted Pope.
“I thought it would be me heading back to the changing rooms to be honest, but then we saw the replay. It was a pretty good feeling at that point.
“Whenever you go up a level you want to tick off that milestone and score a hundred, it makes you feel a bit more at home in the side, a bit more confident in your ability.”
Pope has not had to wait long to reach three figures, just six Tests, but having already cheered a couple of teammates over the line, he was thrilled to take centre stage. “It’s quite hard to put into words, it was a pretty special moment,” he said.
Dom Bess rammed home the advantage by grabbing two late wickets, Pieter Malan caught and bowled and Pope rounding out his day out by holding Zubayr Hamza at silly point. Mark Wood also gave England reason for optimism, cranking up the pace in a rapid evening spell and hitting Dean Elgar on the elbow.
“The response Bessy got out of the pitch was awesome and then Woody came in and bowled at 150kph, which is really exciting,” Pope said.
“We have definitely got the firepower to take 20 wickets in this match.”