Ollie Pope Reinforces Status to England Cricket's No 3 Role with Strong 90 Against Lions

It is difficult to know how significant of the English team's warm-up match will be remotely meaningful when their Ashes series battle starts not far at the Perth venue on the coming Friday – a short span in geography or duration but light years away in import and atmosphere – but if it accomplished solely enhancing Ollie Pope's assurance, that alone has made the effort valuable.

The English side's number three batsman – this fact is certainly totally clear – followed his first-innings ton by notching another 90 in the second innings, and the most remarkable was not so much the total of runs but the manner in which they were made. On occasion the 27-year-old appeared dominant, hitting a dozen boundaries and a pair of maximums, timing the ball perfectly but with fierce purpose.

This was just a exhibition game against a Lions side that employed a total of 11 bowlers throughout a game played in before a handful of onlookers in a public park, but it was still very praiseworthy. Officially, England, set a target of 202 once the Lions closed their follow-on innings on 251 for six, succeeded by a margin of five wickets after Smith raced the team over the winning target with a flurry of fours and sixes.

Crawley and Ben Duckett, the remaining significant first-innings' achievers, both were dismissed in the second knock, while Root scored several more points – 31 on this time – but was not enormously more convincing, prior to being confused and subsequently bowled by Jacks. Harry Brook experienced an similar fate soon afterwards.

Bashir – who ended the fixture having bowled 12 bowling spells for each side – will have found some of the hitting he bowled to pretty aggressive. His first six overs versus the Lions went for 56, with McKinney tucking in to pitching that if not exactly loose was certainly far from dangerous.

At the end the sixth over of those overs, the English side's three other pitchers had given away roughly the same number of points – 57 – from 15, though the bowler turned a little less giving as time passed, giving up 27 from his last six. He claimed a single wicket, making a sharp, diving catch, falling to his right, to conclude Bethell's innings for 70, off 80 balls.

Bethell, compensating for managing just three in the first innings, was a member of three fifty-scorers in the Lions' top order. Ben McKinney's returns from opener were more reliable than the scores of their No 3: he notched 66 in their first innings and improved by two in their follow-up, taking 61 balls for his half-century, with five and a couple sixes, the pair against Bashir's pitching. Bethell reached 68 prior to a poor shot to Stokes at cover, who took a low catch at low down.

Cox displayed similar steadiness, and followed his initial innings' 53 with an additional 57, at about a scoring rate of one. He played a few exceptionally beautiful hits during his innings, including a drive down the ground and a pull shot from consecutive Brydon Carse balls to reach his fifty.

Following his absence from the opening day of this match with a stomach issue and made just the least significant of contributions to the follow-up, Carse bowled brilliantly when at last given the chance, with Ben McKinney and Jordan Cox part of his three wickets.

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