Ollie Pope Strengthens Position to England's Number Three Slot with Bold 90 Against Lions

It is tough to determine how much of England's preparatory game will end up being relevant when their Ashes campaign starts a short distance away at Perth Stadium on Friday – no distance in space or time but ages away in importance and atmosphere – but if it managed solely boosting Pope's confidence, that on its own has made the exercise beneficial.

The English side's No 3 – that point is certainly totally certain – followed his first-innings hundred by adding another 90 in the second innings, and the truly remarkable was not so much the total of runs but the way in which they were scored. Periodically the 27-year-old seemed dominant, smashing a twelve fours and a two of maximums, connecting with the ball perfectly but with aggressive intent.

This was merely a friendly against a Lions squad that employed exactly 11 bowlers across a game played in before a few dozen of spectators in a open field, but it was still extremely impressive. For the record, England, needing of 202 after the Lions closed their follow-on innings on 251 for six, won by five wickets in hand once Jamie Smith sped the team over the conclusion with a stream of fours and sixes.

Zak Crawley and Duckett, the other two major first-innings successes, both fell short in the second innings, while Root scored several more runs – 31 on this occasion – but was not significantly more dominant, prior to being bemused and subsequently dismissed by Jacks. Brook experienced an same end soon afterwards.

Shoaib Bashir – who finished the game having delivered 12 overs for each side – will have faced some of the strokes he faced rather hostile. His initial six deliveries versus the Lions went for 56, with McKinney tucking in to pitching that if not exactly wayward was surely not overly intimidating.

By the conclusion the sixth over of that period, England's other pitchers had allowed nearly exactly the identical number of points – 57 – from 15, though the bowler became a slightly less generous in time, giving up 27 from his final six. He claimed a single wicket, holding a smart, low catch, diving to his right, to conclude Jacob Bethell's knock for 70, facing 80 deliveries.

Jacob Bethell, compensating for achieving only three in the first innings, was among a trio of fifty-scorers in the Lions team's top four. McKinney's performances from opening batsman were more reliable than the scores of their number three: he made 66 in their first innings and scored 68 in their second, using 61 deliveries over his 50 runs, with five boundaries and two six-hit shots, both off Bashir's pitching. Jacob Bethell made 68 before a mishit to Stokes at cover, who made a stooping catch at low down.

Cox showed similar steadiness, and built on his first-innings 53 with another 57, at about a scoring rate of one. There were a few exceptionally beautiful shots during his innings, featuring a straight hit and a hook off consecutive Brydon Carse deliveries to achieve his fifty.

Having missed the initial day of this fixture with a stomach issue and made just the smallest of efforts to the second, Brydon Carse bowled brilliantly when at last provided the chance, with Ben McKinney and Cox among his three scalps.

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