Ollie Pope Cements Position to England's Number Three Role with Impressive 90 Against Lions

It's tough to know how much of England's preparatory match will end up being important when their Ashes battle kicks off a short distance away at the Perth venue on Friday – a brief gap in geography or duration but light years away in significance and environment – but if it accomplished only enhancing Pope's confidence, that alone has made the exercise beneficial.

England's number three batsman – that much is surely absolutely established – built on his first-innings century by adding a further 90 in the second, and the truly impressive was not so much the quantity of runs but the style in which they were scored. Periodically the player appeared commanding, striking a dozen boundaries and a pair of maximums, hitting the ball perfectly but with fierce intent.

It was only a friendly against a Lions squad that employed a total of 11 pitchers during a game staged in before a small group of onlookers in a local ground, but it was nevertheless extremely impressive. To note, the England team, needing of 202 once the Lions ended their follow-on innings on 251 for six, triumphed by a margin of five wickets once Smith raced the team past the winning target with a series of fours and sixes.

Crawley and Ben Duckett, the other two significant first-innings successes, both were dismissed in the second knock, while Root made several more points – 31 on this instance – but was not significantly more assured, prior to being bemused and subsequently bowled by Jacks. Brook met an identical end shortly after.

Bashir – who finished the fixture having delivered 12 overs for each side – will have faced a portion of the batting he bowled to rather hostile. His opening six deliveries versus the Lions cost 56, with McKinney feasting to pitching that if not exactly loose was surely far from dangerous.

After the sixth of those deliveries, the English side's three other pitchers had conceded almost precisely the equivalent total of runs – 57 – from 15, though the bowler became a slightly less generous as time passed, giving up 27 from his last six. He secured a single wicket, making a smart, low-down catch, falling to his right, to end Bethell's batting stint for 70, off 80 deliveries.

Bethell, redeeming achieving only a small score in the first innings, was one of three players with fifties in the Lions team's top four. McKinney's performances from opening batsman were more consistent than those of their number three: he made 66 in their first innings and scored 68 in their second innings, facing 61 deliveries for his half-century, with five boundaries and two maximums, both off Bashir's deliveries. Bethell made 68 prior to a mis-hit to Ben Stokes at cover position, who made a stooping grab at shin level.

Cox exhibited like reliability, and backed up his initial innings' 53 with an additional 57, at about a run per delivery. He produced some outstandingly beautiful hits during his innings, featuring a straight hit and a pull against back-to-back Brydon Carse balls to achieve his fifty.

After missing the first day of this match with a stomach upset and made merely the most minor of efforts to the second, Brydon Carse pitched brilliantly when finally given the chance, with Ben McKinney and Cox among his three scalps.

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