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

It is tough to determine how relevant of England's warm-up game will be remotely meaningful when their Ashes campaign begins a short distance away at the Perth venue on Friday – a short span in geography or duration but worlds away in significance and environment – but if it accomplished nothing more than strengthening Pope's self-belief, that alone has made the exercise beneficial.

England's No 3 – that much is certainly totally clear – built on his initial innings ton by adding another 90 in the second innings, and the truly notable was not merely the total of scored runs but the style in which they were scored. On occasion the young batsman seemed commanding, striking a dozen fours and a two of sixes, connecting with the ball beautifully but with devilish determination.

It was merely a exhibition game against a Lions squad that employed fully 11 bowlers during a contest staged in amid a small group of spectators in a local ground, but it was nonetheless extremely impressive. For the record, England, set a target of 202 after the Lions declared their second innings on 251 for six, triumphed by a margin of five wickets once Smith raced the team across the finish line with a flurry of boundaries.

Zak Crawley and Duckett, the two other significant first-innings achievers, both fell short in the second knock, while Joe Root scored additional points – 31 on this instance – but was far from more dominant, then being bemused and subsequently out by Will Jacks. Harry Brook met an same fate shortly after.

Shoaib Bashir – who ended the match having bowled 12 bowling spells for each side – will have faced some of the strokes he faced quite hostile. His initial six deliveries versus the Lions cost 56, with Ben McKinney tucking in to bowling that if not entirely wayward was surely far from dangerous.

After the sixth spell of that period, the English side's three other bowlers had given away almost precisely the equivalent total of points – 57 – from 15, though the bowler turned a slightly less giving in time, conceding 27 from his remaining six. He claimed one wicket, holding a smart, low-down grab, falling to his right side, to conclude Bethell's innings for 70, facing 80 deliveries.

Jacob Bethell, compensating for scoring just a small score in the first innings, was a member of three players with fifties in the Lions' top order. McKinney's performances from opening batsman were steadier than those from their No 3: he notched 66 in their initial knock and scored 68 in their second, using 61 deliveries for his 50 runs, with five and two maximums, both from Bashir's's deliveries. Bethell made 68 then a mis-hit to Ben Stokes at cover, who held a low grab at shin level.

Jordan Cox exhibited like reliability, and followed his initial innings' 53 with an additional 57, at slightly more than a run per delivery. He played several remarkably elegant shots during his innings, including a straight drive and a hook from back-to-back Carse deliveries to achieve his 50 runs.

Having missed the opening day of this match with a stomach upset and contributed merely the most minor of efforts to the second, Brydon Carse bowled superbly when eventually afforded the shot, with Ben McKinney and Jordan Cox part of his three dismissals.

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