Pope Cements Position to England's No 3 Slot with Bold 90 Against Lions

It is hard to know how relevant of England's practice game will be remotely relevant when their Ashes contest kicks off a short distance away at Perth Stadium on the coming Friday – no distance in geography or duration but light years away in significance and environment – but if it achieved only strengthening Ollie Pope's self-belief, that by itself has made the exercise beneficial.

The English side's No 3 – this fact is undoubtedly absolutely clear – built on his initial innings century by notching another 90 in the second, and the truly notable was not merely the number of scored runs but the way in which they were made. On occasion the player looked imperious, hitting a twelve fours and a couple of maximums, hitting the ball perfectly but with aggressive determination.

This was just a exhibition game versus a Lions squad that deployed exactly 11 bowlers throughout a contest staged in amid a few dozen of onlookers in a public park, but it was nonetheless hugely noteworthy. For the record, England, chasing of 202 once the Lions declared their second innings on 251 for six, won by five wickets in hand after Jamie Smith raced the team past the winning target with a flurry of fours and sixes.

Crawley and Ben Duckett, the remaining significant first-innings successes, both fell short in the follow-up, while Root made several more points – 31 on this instance – but was not significantly more convincing, before being puzzled and accordingly bowled by Will Jacks. Harry Brook met an same fate shortly after.

Bashir – who finished the fixture having delivered 12 bowling spells for each side – will have found some of the hitting he confronted rather challenging. His opening six overs against the Lions conceded 56, with McKinney feasting to bowling that if not exactly loose was surely far from dangerous.

By the conclusion the sixth of those overs, England's other pitchers had allowed almost precisely the equivalent number of points – 57 – from 15, though Bashir grew a somewhat less leaky later on, giving up 27 from his remaining six. He took one wicket, making a smart, diving grab, falling to his right, to finish Jacob Bethell's knock for 70, from 80 balls.

Jacob Bethell, redeeming achieving only three runs in the opening knock, was one of three players half-centurions in the Lions team's top order. Ben McKinney's performances from opening batsman were steadier than the scores of their No 3: he scored 66 in their first batting effort and scored 68 in their follow-up, taking 61 deliveries for his half-century, with five and two sixes, each from Bashir's's pitching. Bethell reached 68 before a mishit to Ben Stokes at cover, who took a bending grab at low down.

Jordan Cox displayed comparable reliability, and followed his initial innings' 53 with a further 57, at slightly more than a run per delivery. He played a few exceptionally beautiful hits en route, featuring a straight hit and a pull against successive Brydon Carse deliveries to achieve his half century.

After missing the first day of this game with a illness and made just the least significant of inputs to the follow-up, Carse bowled brilliantly when finally afforded the opportunity, with Ben McKinney and Jordan Cox included in his three wickets.

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