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

It's tough to know how significant of the English team's warm-up fixture will prove meaningful when their Ashes series battle begins not far at Perth Stadium on the coming Friday – no distance in geography or duration but worlds away in importance and mood – but if it managed solely strengthening Pope's self-belief, that alone has rendered the exercise beneficial.

England's No 3 – this fact is surely absolutely established – built on his initial innings ton by scoring a further 90 in the second, and the truly notable was less about the quantity of runs but the style in which they were accumulated. On occasion the young batsman seemed dominant, striking a twelve boundaries and a couple of sixes, hitting the ball sweetly but with fierce determination.

This was just a friendly against a Lions side that used exactly 11 pitchers during a game staged in amid a small group of people in a public park, but it was nevertheless hugely noteworthy. Officially, England, set a target of 202 after the Lions declared their second innings on 251 for six, succeeded by five wickets when Jamie Smith raced the team past the finish line with a stream of fours and sixes.

Zak Crawley and Duckett, the two other big first-innings' achievers, both failed in the follow-up, while Root added several more points – 31 on this occasion – but was not significantly more dominant, before being confused and subsequently bowled by Jacks. Brook met an similar fate shortly after.

Shoaib Bashir – who finished the match having bowled 12 bowling spells for both teams – will have found part of the hitting he confronted pretty hostile. His opening six deliveries versus the Lions went for 56, with McKinney taking advantage to pitching that if not completely poor was definitely far from intimidating.

By the conclusion the sixth over of that period, the English side's remaining three pitchers had conceded nearly exactly the equivalent number of points – 57 – from 15, though Bashir turned a somewhat less giving later on, giving up 27 from his final six. He took one wicket, making a smart, diving snare, leaning to his right, to conclude Jacob Bethell's innings for 70, from 80 balls.

Bethell, compensating for achieving merely three in the first innings, was a member of three players with fifties in the Lions' top order. McKinney's performances from opener were more reliable than those of their No 3: he scored 66 in their first innings and went two better in their second, facing 61 balls over his fifty, with five and a couple sixes, each from Bashir's's bowling. Jacob Bethell made 68 then a mishit to Ben Stokes at cover, who held a stooping grab at low down.

Cox displayed similar reliability, and backed up his initial innings' 53 with another 57, at slightly more than a run per delivery. He played several remarkably beautiful shots en route, including a straight drive and a pull against back-to-back Brydon Carse deliveries to achieve his 50 runs.

After missing the opening day of this game with a stomach upset and made merely the most minor of contributions to the second day, Brydon Carse pitched superbly when finally given the chance, with Ben McKinney and Jordan Cox among his three dismissals.

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