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

It is hard to gauge how much of England's warm-up fixture will prove important when their Ashes contest kicks off 10km away at the Perth venue on the coming Friday – no distance in geography or duration but worlds away in import and atmosphere – but if it managed nothing more than strengthening Ollie Pope's assurance, that on its own has made the exercise valuable.

England's number three batsman – that point is certainly absolutely clear – built on his initial innings century by notching an additional 90 in the follow-up innings, and the truly remarkable was not so much the quantity of scored runs but the manner in which they were made. On occasion the player looked imperious, smashing a dozen boundaries and a pair of maximums, timing the ball perfectly but with aggressive intent.

This was just a exhibition game versus a Lions team that used exactly 11 pitchers during a contest held in amid a few dozen of spectators in a local ground, but it was nevertheless hugely noteworthy. Officially, England, needing of 202 once the Lions closed their second innings on 251 for six, succeeded by a margin of five wickets when Jamie Smith raced the team past the winning target with a stream of fours and sixes.

Zak Crawley and Duckett, the two other big first-innings achievers, both were dismissed in the follow-up, while Root scored additional runs – 31 on this time – but was not significantly more dominant, before being bemused and duly out by Will Jacks. Brook met an similar end soon afterwards.

Bashir – who concluded the game having bowled 12 overs for each side – will have encountered part of the hitting he confronted rather hostile. His initial six overs versus the Lions went for 56, with Ben McKinney taking advantage to bowling that if not completely wayward was certainly not very dangerous.

At the end the sixth over of those overs, England's other bowlers had conceded roughly the same number of points – 57 – from 15, though Bashir grew a somewhat less generous in time, giving up 27 from his last six. He claimed one dismissal, making a clever, diving snare, diving to his right, to conclude Jacob Bethell's innings for 70, facing 80 deliveries.

Bethell, redeeming scoring just three runs in the initial innings, was a member of a trio of half-centurions in the Lions team's leading batsmen. McKinney's returns from opener were more consistent than those from their number three: he made 66 in their first batting effort and improved by two in their second innings, taking 61 balls to reach his 50 runs, with five fours and two sixes, both against Bashir's deliveries. Bethell made 68 then a mis-hit to Ben Stokes at cover, who made a low grab at shin level.

Jordan Cox exhibited like consistency, and backed up his first-innings 53 with another 57, at slightly more than a run per delivery. There were some exceptionally elegant shots during his innings, such as a straight drive and a hook against consecutive Brydon Carse deliveries to attain his fifty.

After missing the opening day of this game with a illness and contributed just the least significant of inputs to the second, Brydon Carse bowled excellently when at last provided the chance, with McKinney and Jordan Cox part of his three wickets.

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