Ollie Pope Strengthens Position to England's Number Three Role with Bold 90 Versus Lions

It's hard to determine how significant of England's preparatory fixture will be remotely relevant when their Ashes contest kicks off a short distance away at the Perth venue on Friday – a short span in geography or duration but ages away in importance and mood – but if it achieved nothing more than strengthening Ollie Pope's assurance, that on its own has made the endeavor worthwhile.

England's No 3 – that much is certainly completely certain – built on his initial innings ton by adding an additional 90 in the second innings, and the truly impressive was less about the number of scored runs but the way in which they were made. At times the young batsman looked commanding, hitting a twelve fours and a two of sixes, timing the ball beautifully but with fierce intent.

It was only a exhibition game versus a Lions squad that used fully 11 pitchers throughout a match held in front of a small group of onlookers in a public park, but it was nevertheless very noteworthy. To note, England, set a target of 202 after the Lions declared their second innings on 251 for six, triumphed by a margin of five wickets when Jamie Smith raced the team over the conclusion with a stream of boundaries.

Crawley and Duckett, the remaining big first-innings successes, both fell short in the second knock, while Joe Root added additional points – 31 on this occasion – but was not significantly more dominant, before being confused and subsequently bowled by Jacks. Brook suffered an similar fate shortly after.

Bashir – who ended the match having bowled 12 overs for either team – will have found some of the batting he bowled to quite aggressive. His opening six overs against the Lions conceded 56, with Ben McKinney tucking in to pitching that if not completely wayward was definitely not very intimidating.

By the conclusion the sixth over of that period, England's remaining three pitchers had allowed almost precisely the identical number of points – 57 – from 15, though Bashir became a little less leaky in time, giving up 27 from his remaining six. He claimed a single wicket, taking a clever, low snare, diving to his right, to finish Jacob Bethell's knock for 70, facing 80 deliveries.

Bethell, making up for managing merely three in the first innings, was a member of three half-centurions in the Lions team's top order. Ben McKinney's performances from opener were more reliable than those from their No 3: he notched 66 in their first innings and went two better in their follow-up, taking 61 deliveries to reach his half-century, with five fours and two six-hit shots, the pair off Bashir's pitching. Bethell reached 68 before a poor shot to Stokes at cover, who held a bending catch at low down.

Cox exhibited comparable steadiness, and built on his first-innings 53 with a further 57, at just over a run a ball. He played a few exceptionally elegant hits on the way, including a straight hit and a hook off back-to-back Carse deliveries to achieve his fifty.

After missing the opening day of this fixture with a illness and made merely the most minor of inputs to the second, Carse delivered superbly when finally provided the opportunity, with Ben McKinney and Cox part of his three scalps.

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