Ollie Pope Strengthens Position to England Cricket's No 3 Spot with Bold 90 Against Lions

It is hard to determine how significant of England's warm-up game will be remotely meaningful when their Ashes series campaign kicks off a short distance away at the Perth venue on Friday – a short span in geography or duration but worlds away in significance and environment – but if it accomplished nothing more than boosting Ollie Pope's assurance, that by itself has rendered the effort valuable.

England's number three batsman – that much is surely completely certain – followed his first-innings hundred by notching another 90 in the second innings, and the truly notable was not so much the number of runs but the way in which they were accumulated. At times the 27-year-old looked commanding, smashing a twelve boundaries and a two of sixes, hitting the ball beautifully but with fierce purpose.

It was only a exhibition game against a England Lions squad that used exactly 11 pitchers across a game held in front of a handful of spectators in a open field, but it was nonetheless very noteworthy. To note, England, needing of 202 once the Lions closed their follow-on innings on 251 for six, triumphed by five wickets in hand when Smith raced the team over the winning target with a series of boundaries.

Zak Crawley and Duckett, the other two big first-innings' performers, both fell short in the follow-up, while Joe Root scored additional runs – 31 on this instance – but was far from more assured, prior to being confused and duly bowled by Will Jacks. Brook experienced an identical outcome soon afterwards.

Shoaib Bashir – who ended the fixture having delivered 12 bowling spells for both teams – will have encountered part of the batting he confronted rather challenging. His initial six overs versus the Lions cost 56, with McKinney feasting to pitching that if not exactly poor was definitely far from threatening.

At the end the sixth spell of those deliveries, the English side's three other bowlers had conceded nearly exactly the same number of runs – 57 – from 15, though the bowler turned a somewhat less leaky later on, allowing 27 from his final six. He claimed a single wicket, taking a clever, low catch, leaning to his right, to finish Bethell's batting stint for 70, from 80 deliveries.

Bethell, redeeming scoring just three runs in the opening knock, was one of a trio of fifty-scorers in the Lions team's leading batsmen. Ben McKinney's scores from opening batsman were more reliable than those of their No 3: he notched 66 in their first innings and improved by two in their follow-up, facing 61 balls to reach his 50 runs, with five boundaries and two six-hit shots, both against Bashir's's deliveries. Jacob Bethell made 68 before a mishit to Ben Stokes at cover, who made a low catch at low down.

Jordan Cox displayed comparable steadiness, and followed his initial innings' 53 with an additional 57, at slightly more than a run per delivery. He played a few exceptionally handsome strokes en route, such as a straight hit and a pull from back-to-back Brydon Carse deliveries to attain his half century.

Having missed the initial day of this match with a stomach issue and provided only the smallest of efforts to the second, Carse bowled excellently when at last given the opportunity, with McKinney and Jordan Cox included in his three wickets.

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