"Ecstatic": Atkinson's father rejoices on son's first-ever century as pacer looks to fill challenging number 8 spot

London [UK], August 31 : Following his son's record-breaking century, England pacer Gus Atkinson's father expressed happiness on his accomplishment as he joined a rare company of players to have taken a five-wicket haul, ten-wicket haul and scored a century at the iconic Lord's Stadium.
Atkinson scored a memorable 118 runs in 115 balls, with 14 fours and four sixes to guide England to a 231-run lead in the first innings. This was his first-ever century in any form of professional cricket.
Following his century, his father Ed was visibly emotional and clapped for his son. Reflecting on his son's century, he said that it was also his brother's birthday on Friday, which made the century even more special.
"Ecstatic, obviously. Especially at Lord's and following up on his debut, it is just quite unreal. And it is his brother is birthday as well, which makes it even more special, he is here as well. It is a marvelous moment. Such a thrill," said Ed in a video posted on England Cricket's X handle.
He also expressed happiness how well his son has managed to express himself with the bat and ball in such a short span of time.
"I cannot quite believe it. The names are all up there. There are great all-rounders and it is still early days but I am just so thrilled that he has managed to express himself with bat and ball. For us as a family it is just wonderful to see him succeed," Atkinson senior added.
Atkinson is having an all-time debut Test season, having made it to all three Lord's honour boards for taking a five-wicket haul in an innings, getting a ten-wicket haul in a match and scoring a century. In his debut Test, Atkinson took 12 wickets at Lord's against West Indies, including figures of 7/45 in the first innings.
Now in his just fifth Test, he has secured a place in all three honour boards, something only six players have done. This includes England's Gubby Allen, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes , Atkinson and Australia's Keith Miller.
Atkinson could very well be a crucial asset for England if he continues his fine form with the bat. He could resolve England's lack of consistent all-round/batter at number eight, away from home, especially with the Ashes series in Australia coming in 2025-26.
Chris Woakes has played this role at number eight since 2020, but his poor batting and bowling averages of 21.90 and 51.88 away from home has made him less effective and is always not a choice to play in foreign conditions, like during the tour to India this year. Also, Stuart Broad, a pacer who could also bat and has scored 3,662 runs in Tests at an average of 18.03 is retired now.
England has tried pacer Ollie Robinson and wicketkeeper-batter Ben Foakes at number eight, but they have been discarded for now.
Woakes has the best average at number eight over the last three years, with 27.72, above Tom Hartley (18.50, minimum three innings). Atkinson currently averages 32.66 in seven innings, with 196 runs and a strike rate of 81.66.
The benefit number eight batters give teams is visible, with the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin (1,858 runs in 58 matches with three centuries, seven fifties at an average of 25.97), Axar Patel (143 runs in four matches at an average of 47.66, with two fifties) and Pat Cummins (542 runs in 26 matches at an average of 13.89 with two fifties) playing a crucial role in winning India and Australia many matches at home and away conditions.