Ollie Pope, England’s No. 3, set a unique world record on Thursday as he became the first batter to record his first eight Test hundreds against eight different countries.

Pope registered his eighth hundred against Zimbabwe on the opening day of the one-off Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, and will resume his innings on Friday on 169.

England piled on 498 for 3 in 88 overs at the end of the first day's play of the four-day Test after the Ben Stokes-led side was asked to bat first by Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine.

After Zak Crawley (124 off 171 balls) and Ben Duckett (140 off 134 balls) put together a 231-run partnership for the opening wicket, providing England with a magnificent start, Pope came in to carry on the onslaught against the Zimbabwe bowlers.

Pope studded his innings with two sixes and 24 boundaries as he hogged the headlines by setting the unique record. This came after England’s veteran batter Joe Root became the fastest player to score 13,000 Test runs, surpassing legendary South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis.

Pope, a right-handed batter, reached his eighth Test century off 109 balls. This was, meanwhile, his seventh Test hundred at No. 3, putting him level with former England star Jonathan Trott. Only legends Wally Hammond, Ken Barrington, and David Gower have registered more Test centuries for England at No. 3 than Trott and Pope.

Interestingly, Pope scored his eight Test centuries against eight different oppositions. The 27-year-old extended his own world record by becoming the first batter to record his first eight Test hundreds against different countries.

Pope, meanwhile, became the 30th Test batter to record centuries against at least eight different countries and could even equal the overall record should he hit a century in the Ashes later this year.