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

It is hard to know how significant of the English team's preparatory fixture will end up being important when their Ashes series campaign kicks off a short distance away at Perth Stadium on the coming Friday – a short span in space or time but light years away in importance and mood – but if it achieved only boosting Ollie Pope's self-belief, that by itself has made the effort beneficial.

England's number three batsman – that point is certainly absolutely established – built on his first-innings century by notching an additional 90 in the second, and what was remarkable was not merely the total of runs but the style in which they were scored. At times the young batsman looked dominant, striking a twelve fours and a two of sixes, timing the ball sweetly but with devilish determination.

It was merely a practice match against a England Lions side that deployed exactly 11 pitchers across a game staged in front of a few dozen of onlookers in a public park, but it was nonetheless very impressive. Officially, the England team, set a target of 202 once the Lions declared their follow-on innings on 251 for six, won by five wickets when Jamie Smith hurried the team past the winning target with a stream of boundaries.

Crawley and Duckett, the other two significant first-innings achievers, both failed in the follow-up, while Joe Root made additional points – 31 on this occasion – but was not enormously more assured, before being confused and accordingly bowled by Jacks. Brook met an identical fate a little later.

Shoaib Bashir – who concluded the match having bowled 12 bowling spells for both teams – will have encountered part of the batting he bowled to quite hostile. His first six overs against the Lions went for 56, with McKinney taking advantage to bowling that if not entirely poor was certainly not overly intimidating.

At the end the sixth over of that period, England's other bowlers had conceded roughly the identical amount of points – 57 – from 15, though Bashir grew a little less generous later on, conceding 27 from his last six. He took one dismissal, making a smart, low-down snare, falling to his right side, to finish Bethell's innings for 70, from 80 balls.

Jacob Bethell, making up for achieving just three runs in the first innings, was among three players with fifties in the Lions' leading batsmen. McKinney's returns from opener were more consistent than those of their number three: he scored 66 in their first batting effort and scored 68 in their follow-up, using 61 deliveries over his fifty, with five boundaries and two six-hit shots, the pair from Bashir's's bowling. Bethell reached 68 before a mis-hit to Ben Stokes at cover, who held a bending catch at ankle height.

Jordan Cox exhibited like consistency, and built on his initial innings' 53 with an additional 57, at slightly more than a scoring rate of one. He produced several exceptionally beautiful hits during his innings, such as a straight drive and a pull shot from consecutive Brydon Carse deliveries to achieve his fifty.

After missing the initial day of this fixture with a illness and provided only the least significant of inputs to the second, Carse delivered excellently when at last provided the opportunity, with McKinney and Jordan Cox part of his three wickets.

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