Ollie Pope Cements Claim to England Cricket's Number Three Spot with Strong 90 Versus Lions

It is tough to determine how significant of England's practice game will be remotely important when their Ashes series contest begins 10km away at the Perth venue on Friday – a brief gap in geography or duration but light years away in importance and atmosphere – but if it achieved solely enhancing Pope's confidence, that alone has made the exercise valuable.

The English side's number three batsman – this fact is undoubtedly completely clear – followed his first-innings century by adding a further 90 in the second innings, and what was notable was not so much the total of scored runs but the way in which they were accumulated. At times the player seemed commanding, hitting a twelve fours and a pair of maximums, connecting with the ball perfectly but with devilish purpose.

It was merely a exhibition game against a Lions squad that deployed exactly 11 pitchers throughout a contest staged in before a handful of onlookers in a public park, but it was nevertheless very impressive. For the record, the England team, set a target of 202 following the Lions declared their follow-on innings on 251 for six, triumphed by five wickets in hand once Jamie Smith raced the team over the finish line with a stream of fours and sixes.

Crawley and Duckett, the remaining significant first-innings achievers, both fell short in the second innings, while Root scored several more points – 31 on this occasion – but was far from more assured, before being bemused and duly dismissed by Will Jacks. Harry Brook met an identical end soon afterwards.

Bashir – who ended the game having delivered 12 bowling spells for both teams – will have encountered part of the batting he bowled to rather aggressive. His opening six overs against the Lions cost 56, with McKinney feasting to pitching that if not entirely poor was definitely not very threatening.

By the conclusion the sixth spell of those deliveries, England's remaining three bowlers had conceded roughly the same total of runs – 57 – from 15, though the bowler became a slightly less giving later on, allowing 27 from his remaining six. He secured one dismissal, holding a sharp, low-down snare, diving to his right, to end Jacob Bethell's innings for 70, from 80 balls.

Jacob Bethell, making up for scoring merely three in the initial innings, was one of three half-centurions in the Lions team's top four. Ben McKinney's scores from opening batsman were steadier than the scores of their No 3: he made 66 in their initial knock and improved by two in their follow-up, using 61 balls to reach his half-century, with five boundaries and two maximums, each against Bashir's's bowling. Jacob Bethell got to 68 then a poor shot to Stokes at cover position, who made a bending grab at shin level.

Cox showed similar consistency, and followed his initial innings' 53 with a further 57, at about a run a ball. He played several outstandingly beautiful shots en route, featuring a drive down the ground and a pull against consecutive Brydon Carse deliveries to reach his fifty.

Following his absence from the first day of this game with a stomach issue and provided merely the smallest of contributions to the second, Carse delivered superbly when eventually given the shot, with McKinney and Jordan Cox among his three dismissals.

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