Ollie Pope Cements Claim to England's No 3 Spot with Strong 90 Against Lions

It's tough to know how relevant of the English team's warm-up fixture will end up being relevant when their Ashes series contest begins not far at Perth Stadium on Friday – no distance in geography or duration but ages away in importance and atmosphere – but if it managed nothing more than strengthening Ollie Pope's self-belief, that alone has rendered the exercise beneficial.

England's number three batsman – that much is undoubtedly completely established – built on his initial innings century by adding another 90 in the second, and what was notable was not merely the quantity of scored runs but the way in which they were accumulated. At times the 27-year-old appeared dominant, smashing a twelve boundaries and a pair of sixes, timing the ball beautifully but with aggressive determination.

This was just a practice match versus a Lions side that employed fully 11 bowlers throughout a match staged in before a small group of spectators in a public park, but it was nevertheless hugely impressive. To note, the England team, chasing of 202 following the Lions ended their second innings on 251 for six, triumphed by five wickets in hand after Smith sped the team over the conclusion with a series of boundaries.

Crawley and Ben Duckett, the remaining significant first-innings' performers, both were dismissed in the follow-up, while Joe Root added further runs – 31 on this instance – but was not enormously more assured, before being confused and subsequently dismissed by Jacks. Brook suffered an similar outcome a little later.

Shoaib Bashir – who ended the game having delivered 12 bowling spells for each side – will have encountered a portion of the strokes he confronted pretty hostile. His initial six overs against the Lions went for 56, with McKinney tucking in to deliveries that if not exactly poor was surely not overly threatening.

After the sixth of those overs, the English side's remaining three bowlers had conceded roughly the same number of points – 57 – from 15, though Bashir grew a little less leaky as time passed, conceding 27 from his final six. He took one wicket, making a sharp, diving snare, diving to his right side, to conclude Bethell's knock for 70, from 80 balls.

Jacob Bethell, compensating for achieving just three in the first innings, was a member of a trio of players with fifties in the Lions team's top four. McKinney's returns from opening batsman were steadier than those of their No 3: he scored 66 in their first batting effort and scored 68 in their follow-up, using 61 balls over his half-century, with five and two maximums, the pair against Bashir's's deliveries. Bethell made 68 before a poor shot to Ben Stokes at cover position, who made a stooping grab at shin level.

Jordan Cox exhibited similar steadiness, and built on his first-innings 53 with an additional 57, at about a run per delivery. He produced several outstandingly handsome hits en route, such as a drive down the ground and a hook off back-to-back Brydon Carse balls to reach his fifty.

Having missed the first day of this game with a stomach issue and provided merely the most minor of contributions to the second, Brydon Carse pitched brilliantly when at last provided the opportunity, with Ben McKinney and Cox part of his three scalps.

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