Ollie Pope Strengthens Claim to England Cricket's No 3 Slot with Strong 90 Versus Lions

It's tough to determine how much of England's warm-up game will be remotely important when their Ashes series campaign starts a short distance away at Perth Stadium on Friday – a brief gap in geography or duration but ages away in importance and atmosphere – but if it achieved only strengthening Pope's assurance, that on its own has made the exercise valuable.

The English side's No 3 – that much is undoubtedly completely clear – built on his first-innings hundred by notching a further 90 in the second innings, and the most notable was less about the number of scored runs but the way in which they were scored. Periodically the young batsman seemed commanding, smashing a dozen boundaries and a pair of maximums, connecting with the ball perfectly but with fierce purpose.

It was just a practice match against a England Lions squad that used fully 11 bowlers throughout a contest played in front of a few dozen of onlookers in a open field, but it was nevertheless very praiseworthy. For the record, England, chasing of 202 after the Lions declared their follow-on innings on 251 for six, won by a margin of five wickets when Jamie Smith raced the team across the conclusion with a stream of boundaries.

Crawley and Ben Duckett, the remaining major first-innings' performers, both were dismissed in the second knock, while Joe Root made further runs – 31 on this instance – but was far from more assured, prior to being puzzled and accordingly bowled by Will Jacks. Brook met an same outcome a little later.

Bashir – who ended the game having delivered 12 overs for both teams – will have faced some of the hitting he confronted pretty aggressive. His opening six deliveries against the Lions went for 56, with McKinney taking advantage to pitching that if not entirely loose was surely far from threatening.

At the end the sixth spell of that period, the English side's three other pitchers had given away almost precisely the equivalent number of points – 57 – from 15, though the bowler became a little less generous later on, allowing 27 from his remaining six. He secured a single wicket, taking a smart, diving catch, diving to his right, to finish Jacob Bethell's knock for 70, off 80 balls.

Bethell, making up for managing only three runs in the opening knock, was among three players fifty-scorers in the Lions' top four. McKinney's returns from opening batsman were more reliable than those from their number three: he scored 66 in their first innings and improved by two in their second innings, taking 61 deliveries over his fifty, with five fours and a couple sixes, each against Bashir's deliveries. Jacob Bethell reached 68 then a mis-hit to Stokes at cover, who held a low catch at low down.

Cox showed comparable steadiness, and built on his first-innings 53 with a further 57, at just over a run a ball. He played some outstandingly elegant shots during his innings, such as a drive down the ground and a pull shot against back-to-back Brydon Carse deliveries to achieve his half century.

Following his absence from the first day of this match with a stomach issue and contributed just the smallest of efforts to the second day, Carse bowled excellently when at last afforded the opportunity, with McKinney and Jordan Cox part of his three wickets.

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