Ollie Pope Reinforces Claim to England's Number Three Role with Bold 90 Against Lions

It is difficult to gauge how relevant of the English team's practice match will be remotely relevant when their Ashes series contest starts 10km away at the Perth venue on the coming Friday – no distance in geography or duration but light years away in import and atmosphere – but if it achieved solely enhancing Pope's assurance, that alone has made the effort worthwhile.

The English side's number three batsman – this fact is surely totally clear – built on his initial innings hundred by scoring an additional 90 in the second innings, and the truly impressive was less about the total of runs but the way in which they were made. At times the young batsman looked commanding, smashing a dozen boundaries and a couple of sixes, hitting the ball beautifully but with devilish purpose.

This was merely a friendly versus a Lions side that deployed fully 11 bowlers during a game staged in before a few dozen of onlookers in a open field, but it was nevertheless extremely impressive. To note, England, chasing of 202 after the Lions closed their follow-on innings on 251 for six, won by five wickets in hand after Jamie Smith raced the team across the winning target with a series of fours and sixes.

Crawley and Duckett, the other two major first-innings' successes, both failed in the second knock, while Joe Root made additional runs – 31 on this instance – but was not significantly more dominant, before being confused and duly bowled by Jacks. Brook met an same fate a little later.

Shoaib Bashir – who concluded the fixture having delivered 12 bowling spells for both teams – will have found a portion of the hitting he confronted pretty aggressive. His opening six deliveries versus the Lions cost 56, with McKinney feasting to deliveries that if not completely loose was certainly far from threatening.

At the end the sixth spell of those deliveries, the English side's other bowlers had given away nearly exactly the identical total of points – 57 – from 15, though Bashir became a little less generous as time passed, conceding 27 from his remaining six. He claimed one wicket, holding a sharp, low catch, diving to his right side, to conclude Jacob Bethell's innings for 70, off 80 deliveries.

Jacob Bethell, compensating for managing just three in the opening knock, was one of three players with fifties in the Lions' top order. Ben McKinney's returns from opener were steadier than the scores of their number three: he made 66 in their first batting effort and went two better in their second, using 61 balls to reach his half-century, with five boundaries and two maximums, each from Bashir's deliveries. Jacob Bethell reached 68 before a mishit to Stokes at cover position, who held a low catch at shin level.

Cox displayed like consistency, and followed his initial innings' 53 with an additional 57, at about a run a ball. He played a few remarkably handsome hits en route, such as a drive down the ground and a pull against back-to-back Brydon Carse deliveries to achieve his fifty.

Following his absence from the opening day of this game with a stomach upset and made only the most minor of efforts to the second day, Brydon Carse bowled superbly when at last afforded the opportunity, with McKinney and Cox part of his three scalps.

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