Gus Atkinson said, “ So to be up there is special” after scoring his maiden Test hundred at Lords

It would not be wrong to say that it’s a dream of every cricket player in the world to represent his nation at one of the iconic stadiums, i.e., Lord's Cricket Ground, which is also considered the mecca of international cricket. In that place, several cricketers have played some of the best innings of their lives and got a chance to feature their names on Lord's honour boards. But only a few of them would have a destiny like England star bowler Gus Atkinson, who not only made his name feature in bowling but also as a batter after scoring his maiden Test hundred against the Sri Lanka team, which helped them put 427 runs on the board.

You might not know, but he has achieved this incredible feat for the 3rd time in a row in just 3 months, which has left him in awe. The right-arm fast bowler already featured his name on the Lord's honour board in his debut match by picking a five-wicket haul and ending up with a match haul of 12 against the West Indies in July, which was also James Anderson's farewell Test. On August 30, he became only the sixth cricketer to achieve the double of a 10-wicket haul and a Test hundred at Lord's, and the quickest to do so as he took only four innings for his feat.

"It's amazing," Atkinson told ECB after his 115-ball 118 helped England finish with 427 in the second Test against Sri Lanka. "As a boy growing up, I always dreamt of getting on the Lord's honours board. To be honest, I never thought I'll be up there for a hundred. So to be up there is special."

"It's hard to choose between the two but to score a Test century at Lord's, it felt like...you're out there for three hours and whatever, and it's a long process scoring a hundred. And obviously I'm more of a bowler. So to be up there for batting, it's very special," he said, when asked which achievement he considered more significant.

He made a crucial 92-run partnership with Mathew Motts, taking his team to a score of 393 for the loss of 8 wickets. England's 1st innings ended at a score of 427 runs after 102 overs. Asitha Fernando was the leading wicket-taker for Sri Lanka, with 5 wickets in 24 overs and an economy rate of 4.5. Lahiru Kumara and Milan Rathnayake took 2 wickets each, along with 1 wicket from Prabath Jayasuriya.