Ollie Pope Reinforces Status to England's No 3 Role with Bold 90 Against Lions

It's difficult to know how relevant of the English team's preparatory fixture will prove relevant when their Ashes series contest begins a short distance away at the Perth venue on Friday – a short span in space or time but light years away in importance and environment – but if it achieved only strengthening Ollie Pope's self-belief, that alone has rendered the exercise beneficial.

The English side's number three batsman – this fact is undoubtedly completely clear – built on his initial innings century by notching an additional 90 in the second innings, and what was notable was less about the number of scored runs but the manner in which they were made. Periodically the young batsman seemed commanding, hitting a twelve boundaries and a pair of sixes, connecting with the ball sweetly but with fierce intent.

This was just a practice match against a Lions team that deployed a total of 11 pitchers during a game staged in amid a small group of people in a open field, but it was nonetheless very noteworthy. To note, England, chasing of 202 following the Lions closed their second innings on 251 for six, won by five wickets after Smith sped the team over the finish line with a stream of boundaries.

Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, the other two significant first-innings successes, both were dismissed in the second innings, while Root scored additional points – 31 on this instance – but was not enormously more assured, before being bemused and duly bowled by Will Jacks. Brook met an identical end soon afterwards.

Bashir – who concluded the game having delivered 12 overs for either team – will have faced some of the strokes he faced quite challenging. His initial six overs versus the Lions went for 56, with Ben McKinney feasting to pitching that if not completely poor was definitely not overly dangerous.

After the sixth over of those overs, the English side's other pitchers had allowed almost precisely the identical amount of points – 57 – from 15, though the bowler became a little less leaky as time passed, conceding 27 from his final six. He took one wicket, holding a sharp, low snare, leaning to his right side, to finish Bethell's knock for 70, from 80 deliveries.

Jacob Bethell, compensating for achieving just three runs in the first innings, was among three half-centurions in the Lions team's leading batsmen. Ben McKinney's performances from opening batsman were steadier than the scores of their No 3: he notched 66 in their initial knock and went two better in their follow-up, using 61 deliveries for his half-century, with five and two six-hit shots, both off Bashir's's deliveries. Jacob Bethell reached 68 prior to a mis-hit to Ben Stokes at cover position, who took a low grab at low down.

Jordan Cox displayed similar reliability, and backed up his first-innings 53 with a further 57, at just over a scoring rate of one. He produced several outstandingly handsome strokes on the way, including a drive down the ground and a hook off successive Brydon Carse deliveries to reach his fifty.

Having missed the first day of this fixture with a stomach upset and made just the smallest of efforts to the follow-up, Carse delivered superbly when at last given the opportunity, with McKinney and Cox among his three dismissals.

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