Ollie Pope Cements Position to England Cricket's Number Three Role with Impressive 90 Against Lions

It's tough to determine how much of England's practice fixture will end up being important when their Ashes campaign begins 10km away at Perth Stadium on the coming Friday – no distance in geography or duration but worlds away in importance and mood – but if it accomplished only enhancing Pope's confidence, that alone has rendered the effort beneficial.

The English side's number three batsman – that much is surely totally established – followed his first-innings hundred by notching an additional 90 in the second innings, and the most remarkable was not merely the total of scored runs but the way in which they were made. At times the 27-year-old seemed dominant, striking a dozen boundaries and a two of maximums, connecting with the ball perfectly but with devilish intent.

This was only a friendly against a England Lions team that used a total of 11 pitchers throughout a contest staged in front of a handful of people in a public park, but it was still extremely noteworthy. Officially, England, chasing of 202 after the Lions closed their follow-on innings on 251 for six, won by a margin of five wickets after Jamie Smith hurried the team across the conclusion with a stream of boundaries.

Crawley and Duckett, the two other significant first-innings' performers, both failed in the follow-up, while Root added additional points – 31 on this occasion – but was far from more dominant, prior to being puzzled and accordingly dismissed by Will Jacks. Harry Brook experienced an identical fate a little later.

Shoaib Bashir – who concluded the game having bowled 12 overs for each side – will have encountered some of the batting he bowled to quite hostile. His first six deliveries versus the Lions conceded 56, with Ben McKinney taking advantage to deliveries that if not exactly wayward was certainly far from dangerous.

By the conclusion the sixth over of that period, England's other bowlers had given away almost precisely the same total of points – 57 – from 15, though the bowler grew a little less generous in time, allowing 27 from his remaining six. He secured one dismissal, holding a sharp, low snare, leaning to his right, to finish Bethell's innings for 70, off 80 balls.

Jacob Bethell, making up for managing only three runs in the first innings, was one of three players players with fifties in the Lions' leading batsmen. Ben McKinney's scores from opening batsman were more consistent than those from their number three: he notched 66 in their initial knock and improved by two in their second, facing 61 deliveries to reach his 50 runs, with five and a couple sixes, both off Bashir's's pitching. Jacob Bethell made 68 prior to a poor shot to Stokes at cover, who took a bending catch at ankle height.

Cox showed similar consistency, and built on his first-innings 53 with a further 57, at about a run per delivery. There were some remarkably beautiful hits on the way, featuring a drive down the ground and a hook against successive Carse balls to reach his 50 runs.

After missing the first day of this match with a stomach issue and made just the most minor of efforts to the second day, Carse pitched superbly when at last given the opportunity, with McKinney and Cox part of his three dismissals.

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