Pope Reinforces Claim to England Cricket's No 3 Spot with Strong 90 Against Lions

It is tough to determine how significant of the English team's preparatory match will end up being relevant when their Ashes series contest starts not far at Perth Stadium on the coming Friday – a brief gap in geography or duration but ages away in significance and mood – but if it accomplished only strengthening Ollie Pope's self-belief, that alone has made the effort worthwhile.

England's No 3 – that much is surely absolutely certain – followed his initial innings hundred by notching a further 90 in the second innings, and the truly notable was not so much the number of runs but the way in which they were made. Periodically the young batsman looked commanding, striking a dozen boundaries and a two of sixes, hitting the ball sweetly but with devilish intent.

It was merely a exhibition game against a Lions team that used a total of 11 pitchers during a match held in amid a small group of people in a local ground, but it was nonetheless very impressive. To note, England, needing of 202 following the Lions closed their follow-on innings on 251 for six, triumphed by five wickets in hand when Smith hurried the team across the winning target with a series of boundaries.

Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, the two other big first-innings' achievers, both failed in the second knock, while Joe Root added several more points – 31 on this occasion – but was far from more assured, before being puzzled and accordingly dismissed by Will Jacks. Brook met an identical end shortly after.

Bashir – who concluded the match having delivered 12 bowling spells for either team – will have faced a portion of the hitting he bowled to rather challenging. His opening six overs versus the Lions conceded 56, with McKinney feasting to deliveries that if not entirely wayward was surely far from dangerous.

At the end the sixth over of that period, England's three other pitchers had allowed nearly exactly the same amount of points – 57 – from 15, though the bowler grew a somewhat less giving in time, allowing 27 from his remaining six. He claimed a single wicket, taking a smart, low grab, leaning to his right side, to finish Jacob Bethell's innings for 70, off 80 deliveries.

Bethell, redeeming managing merely three in the initial innings, was one of a trio of players with fifties in the Lions team's leading batsmen. Ben McKinney's scores from opening batsman were more consistent than the scores of their No 3: he made 66 in their initial knock and improved by two in their second innings, using 61 deliveries to reach his fifty, with five and two maximums, each off Bashir's bowling. Bethell made 68 prior to a mishit to Ben Stokes at cover position, who took a bending catch at ankle height.

Jordan Cox showed similar steadiness, and followed his first-innings 53 with an additional 57, at slightly more than a scoring rate of one. He produced some remarkably elegant strokes during his innings, featuring a straight drive and a pull shot off back-to-back Brydon Carse deliveries to attain his fifty.

Following his absence from the initial day of this game with a stomach issue and contributed just the least significant of inputs to the follow-up, Carse bowled brilliantly when finally afforded the shot, with McKinney and Cox included in his three wickets.

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