Ollie Pope Strengthens Position to England's No 3 Slot with Bold 90 Versus Lions

It is difficult to determine how significant of England's practice fixture will end up being important when their Ashes series campaign kicks off 10km away at Perth Stadium on Friday – a brief gap in geography or duration but worlds away in importance and atmosphere – but if it accomplished only boosting Pope's self-belief, that alone has made the effort beneficial.

England's No 3 – that much is certainly absolutely clear – followed his initial innings hundred by scoring another 90 in the follow-up innings, and what was remarkable was less about the number of runs but the way in which they were accumulated. At times the 27-year-old looked dominant, striking a twelve fours and a two of maximums, timing the ball perfectly but with devilish purpose.

This was only a friendly versus a Lions side that deployed fully 11 pitchers throughout a game staged in before a small group of spectators in a local ground, but it was nonetheless extremely praiseworthy. To note, the England team, needing of 202 after the Lions declared their second innings on 251 for six, succeeded by five wickets in hand when Smith hurried the team across the finish line with a flurry of fours and sixes.

Crawley and Ben Duckett, the other two significant first-innings' successes, both were dismissed in the second innings, while Root added several more points – 31 on this occasion – but was far from more dominant, then being bemused and accordingly bowled by Will Jacks. Brook experienced an same end soon afterwards.

Shoaib Bashir – who finished the fixture having bowled 12 overs for either team – will have found part of the strokes he bowled to pretty aggressive. His first six deliveries against the Lions conceded 56, with Ben McKinney tucking in to bowling that if not entirely wayward was definitely not very threatening.

At the end the sixth over of that period, England's three other bowlers had given away roughly the same total of runs – 57 – from 15, though the bowler became a somewhat less leaky later on, giving up 27 from his final six. He secured a single wicket, taking a sharp, low-down snare, falling to his right side, to end Bethell's innings for 70, from 80 deliveries.

Bethell, compensating for scoring just a small score in the initial innings, was among three fifty-scorers in the Lions' top order. McKinney's scores from opener were more reliable than the scores of their No 3: he scored 66 in their initial knock and improved by two in their follow-up, facing 61 balls over his 50 runs, with five and a couple six-hit shots, each off Bashir's's pitching. Jacob Bethell reached 68 prior to a mishit to Ben Stokes at cover position, who held a stooping catch at ankle height.

Jordan Cox displayed similar consistency, and built on his first-innings 53 with an additional 57, at just over a scoring rate of one. He produced a few exceptionally elegant shots on the way, such as a straight drive and a pull shot off consecutive Carse balls to attain his half century.

Having missed the initial day of this game with a illness and made merely the smallest of contributions to the second day, Carse pitched brilliantly when eventually given the shot, with Ben McKinney and Cox among his three wickets.

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