Ollie Pope scores superb century as England dominate on day one of third Test against Sri Lanka – but bad light calls spark fury from punters forking out £110

It was a day when the best and worst of the sport came together, with Ollie Pope giving the critics the middle finger after Test cricket turned its nose up at the paying public.

Pope’s redemptive century, after 30 runs in four innings as stand-in captain, took England to 221 for three on a curtailed first day of the third Test against Sri Lanka, and kept them on course for a first perfect summer in two decades. It was an impressive reply to the brickbats.

But his heroics followed another astonishing piece of administration when – at 12.19pm, with the match only 15 overs old – umpires Joel Wilson and Chris Gaffaney glared at their light meters and decided it was too dark to allow the Sri Lankan sailors to continue.

When the tourists turned down the chance to go bowling, everyone flocked in.

Just as cricket was trying to rebuild its credibility after last week’s ticket fiasco at Lord’s, here was another blow to the game’s solar plexus. The whole thing was as predictable as it was miserable.

Ben Duckett hit a breathtaking 86 with the hosts on the way to a first perfect summer in 20 years

Never mind that Ben Duckett had switched to a 48-ball half century, apparently mistaking the ball for a watermelon. Or that a crowd of nearly 25,000 had gathered to enjoy the opening skirmishes of the last Test on these shores until May.

No, what mattered was that the umpires, after a thorough examination of the rules, had decided that conditions had suddenly changed from playable to ‘dangerous or unreasonable’, as defined by ICC rules.

With England racing to 76 for one from five overs, and rain still an hour away, the only immediate danger was Sri Lanka’s bowling. As the late, great Bob Willis used to say: ‘Show me the coffins of all the batsmen killed by bad light.’

Rob Key, MD of England, was also sceptical in the commentary box.

‘The way they went about it, playing very well, it didn’t look dark,’ he told Test Match Special. ‘What you need is a good eye, and a good investment, in what’s dangerous. When the full floodlights are on, how hard is it to see the ball? It’s frustrating.’

Not for the first time, cricket seems to have forgotten that its primary role is to entertain. It is a lesson it seems reluctant to absorb.

But due to the poor light, half the day was lost to another mind-numbing piece of administration

Stand-in captain Pope struck like a man on a mission after Dan Lawrence was sacked

And it hardly needs saying that Test cricket needs all the help it can get – especially on the day the ECB formally invited private investment into the English game by putting the Hundred teams up for sale, with far-reaching implications for the shape and atmosphere of future summers.

Last Sunday, an embarrassed MCC at Lord’s agreed to review its ticket pricing policy after just 9,000 turned up to see England win the series on day four, leaving spectators who paid between £75 and £110 wondering why they bothered.

It seems pointless to say that the Hundred continues to fiddle with the schedule, and yet here we are. Last summer, the Ashes were finished at the end of July to accommodate the ECB’s brainchild. This time, Test cricket has been pushed into the second week of September, with the football season well underway.

Either way, those who believe the pink ball should replace the red ball in all Test cricket, allowing the game to continue under the floodlights, had their case bolstered. And when the players left the field at 5.54pm, the crowd showed what they thought with boos and jeers.

In the circumstances it was fortunate that England scored so quickly. When play finally resumed at 3.10pm, Duckett treated the crowd to a flurry of outrageous scoops and ramps, but the knock saw him go down on 86 when he miscued Milan Rathnayake to point. He had faced only 79 balls.

Duckett told Post Sport recently that he thinks ‘very often’ about his poor conversion rate in Test cricket – and this was his seventh dismissal between 71 and 98.

Duckett failed to reach a hundred and indicated he was desperate to reach a three-figure score

If the weather improves and the referees are less fearful, the Pope may conduct the test outside Sri Lanka

After he had rammed and uppercut Kumara for two sixes in an over, he clearly didn’t think he would be able to power his way to what would have been a fourth Test hundred. It’s a selflessness that makes him a popular team-mate. He later insisted he was more determined than ever to reach three figures.

Pope, meanwhile, was batting like a man on a mission. After England’s inadvertent opener Dan Lawrence fell for five, tangling with Lahiru Kumara’s short ball, Pope back-cut Rathnayake for four, then pulled Rathnayake for six.

In the first innings at Lord’s, the stroke had caused his downfall, and provoked howling and gnashing of teeth. But on home turf south of the Thames, its success seemed to portend something more reassuring.

England, aided by the wilful attack of four Sri Lankans, reached late tea on 194 for three, having lost Joe Root for 13 moments earlier after failing to control a pull-off from Kumara.

But Pope, 84 at the break, soon brought up his seventh Test hundred – all against different opponents – with a cover-driven four off Asitha Fernando. As if to underline the importance of home comfort, he has now made 12 of his 21 first-class centuries at The Oval.

If the weather improves on Saturday and the umpires are less anxious, Pope will have the chance to put the match out of Sri Lanka’s reach.