Ollie Pope Reinforces Position to England Cricket's Number Three Spot with Strong 90 Against Lions

It is hard to gauge how much of England's warm-up fixture will end up being meaningful when their Ashes series battle starts a short distance away at Perth Stadium on the coming Friday – a short span in space or time but light years away in import and atmosphere – but if it accomplished only boosting Pope's confidence, that by itself has made the exercise valuable.

The English side's No 3 – this fact is certainly completely clear – followed his first-innings ton by notching a further 90 in the second, and what was remarkable was less about the number of runs but the manner in which they were accumulated. Periodically the player appeared commanding, smashing a dozen boundaries and a two of sixes, connecting with the ball perfectly but with devilish intent.

This was only a exhibition game against a England Lions team that used fully 11 pitchers across a contest played in front of a small group of spectators in a local ground, but it was nevertheless very noteworthy. To note, the England team, chasing of 202 after the Lions ended their second innings on 251 for six, won by five wickets once Jamie Smith hurried the team past the finish line with a flurry of fours and sixes.

Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, the remaining major first-innings achievers, both were dismissed in the follow-up, while Joe Root scored several more runs – 31 on this time – but was not significantly more assured, then being bemused and duly dismissed by Jacks. Harry Brook met an identical fate shortly after.

Bashir – who ended the game having delivered 12 bowling spells for each side – will have faced a portion of the batting he bowled to quite aggressive. His opening six deliveries against the Lions went for 56, with McKinney feasting to bowling that if not entirely loose was certainly not very dangerous.

After the sixth over of those deliveries, England's remaining three bowlers had conceded nearly exactly the identical total of runs – 57 – from 15, though the bowler grew a slightly less generous in time, conceding 27 from his remaining six. He claimed one dismissal, holding a sharp, low-down grab, leaning to his right, to finish Bethell's knock for 70, facing 80 deliveries.

Jacob Bethell, making up for scoring only three runs in the opening knock, was among three half-centurions in the Lions team's leading batsmen. McKinney's performances from opening batsman were more consistent than the scores of their number three: he scored 66 in their first innings and improved by two in their follow-up, using 61 deliveries to reach his 50 runs, with five and two six-hit shots, the pair off Bashir's pitching. Jacob Bethell made 68 prior to a mishit to Stokes at cover position, who made a low catch at ankle height.

Cox displayed comparable consistency, and followed his first-innings 53 with another 57, at about a scoring rate of one. He played several exceptionally elegant hits during his innings, including a straight hit and a hook against back-to-back Carse balls to reach his 50 runs.

Having missed the first day of this match with a illness and contributed just the most minor of contributions to the second day, Brydon Carse bowled superbly when at last provided the opportunity, with Ben McKinney and Cox part of his three dismissals.

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