Ollie Pope Cements Status to England's No 3 Spot with Impressive 90 Against Lions

It is difficult to know how significant of England's preparatory fixture will be remotely important when their Ashes series contest kicks off not far at Perth Stadium on the coming Friday – no distance in geography or duration but light years away in importance and environment – but if it managed solely boosting Pope's self-belief, that alone has rendered the exercise worthwhile.

England's number three batsman – this fact is surely absolutely established – built on his initial innings ton by scoring a further 90 in the second innings, and the most remarkable was not so much the total of scored runs but the manner in which they were scored. On occasion the young batsman appeared dominant, hitting a dozen fours and a two of sixes, timing the ball beautifully but with devilish determination.

This was only a practice match against a England Lions side that used fully 11 pitchers across a contest played in front of a few dozen of onlookers in a open field, but it was nonetheless hugely noteworthy. Officially, the England team, set a target of 202 following the Lions declared their follow-on innings on 251 for six, succeeded by a margin of five wickets after Smith raced the team across the conclusion with a stream of boundaries.

Crawley and Ben Duckett, the remaining significant first-innings' successes, both fell short in the second innings, while Joe Root made several more points – 31 on this time – but was not significantly more convincing, before being confused and duly bowled by Will Jacks. Brook experienced an same end a little later.

Shoaib Bashir – who finished the game having bowled 12 overs for each side – will have faced part of the hitting he confronted pretty challenging. His opening six overs versus the Lions went for 56, with McKinney taking advantage to pitching that if not completely loose was surely far from dangerous.

After the sixth of those deliveries, the English side's three other pitchers had conceded roughly the same number of runs – 57 – from 15, though Bashir became a little less leaky in time, conceding 27 from his last six. He secured one dismissal, holding a smart, diving grab, falling to his right, to conclude Jacob Bethell's innings for 70, off 80 deliveries.

Bethell, redeeming achieving only three runs in the opening knock, was one of a trio of half-centurions in the Lions' top four. Ben McKinney's scores from opener were steadier than those of their No 3: he notched 66 in their first batting effort and scored 68 in their second innings, using 61 deliveries to reach his half-century, with five and two sixes, the pair off Bashir's bowling. Bethell reached 68 then a poor shot to Stokes at cover position, who made a bending grab at ankle height.

Cox exhibited comparable reliability, and followed his initial innings' 53 with a further 57, at just over a run per delivery. He played some exceptionally elegant strokes on the way, including a drive down the ground and a hook from consecutive Carse deliveries to reach his 50 runs.

Following his absence from the opening day of this game with a stomach upset and contributed just the least significant of contributions to the second day, Carse pitched excellently when eventually afforded the shot, with Ben McKinney and Cox among his three scalps.

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