Ollie Pope Strengthens Claim to England's Number Three Role with Strong 90 Versus Lions

It's tough to know how relevant of the English team's preparatory match will prove important when their Ashes contest starts 10km away at Perth Stadium on Friday – no distance in space or time but worlds away in importance and atmosphere – but if it accomplished nothing more than boosting Pope's self-belief, that by itself has rendered the exercise beneficial.

The English side's No 3 – that point is undoubtedly absolutely certain – followed his first-innings century by scoring an additional 90 in the second, and the truly impressive was not so much the quantity of scored runs but the way in which they were made. On occasion the player looked dominant, striking a twelve fours and a two of sixes, hitting the ball perfectly but with devilish intent.

It was just a friendly versus a England Lions team that employed a total of 11 bowlers throughout a game held in before a small group of people in a local ground, but it was still hugely noteworthy. For the record, England, needing of 202 following the Lions ended their second innings on 251 for six, won by five wickets once Smith hurried the team past the finish line with a stream of boundaries.

Crawley and Ben Duckett, the other two significant first-innings successes, both fell short in the follow-up, while Joe Root scored additional runs – 31 on this time – but was not significantly more assured, prior to being confused and duly dismissed by Will Jacks. Harry Brook suffered an similar outcome shortly after.

Bashir – who ended the match having bowled 12 bowling spells for either team – will have encountered some of the batting he bowled to rather hostile. His initial six overs against the Lions conceded 56, with McKinney taking advantage to bowling that if not exactly poor was definitely far from intimidating.

At the end the sixth spell of that period, the English side's remaining three bowlers had allowed almost precisely the identical total of points – 57 – from 15, though Bashir turned a slightly less giving as time passed, conceding 27 from his remaining six. He secured a single wicket, taking a clever, low grab, falling to his right side, to end Bethell's knock for 70, off 80 balls.

Jacob Bethell, making up for achieving only a small score in the first innings, was a member of a trio of half-centurions in the Lions team's top four. Ben McKinney's returns from opener were steadier than the scores of their number three: he scored 66 in their initial knock and scored 68 in their second, taking 61 deliveries over his half-century, with five and two maximums, the pair off Bashir's deliveries. Bethell reached 68 prior to a mishit to Ben Stokes at cover position, who held a low catch at low down.

Cox showed like steadiness, and followed his first-innings 53 with an additional 57, at just over a run a ball. He produced a few exceptionally beautiful hits on the way, such as a straight hit and a pull from back-to-back Carse deliveries to achieve his half century.

After missing the opening day of this fixture with a stomach upset and made merely the smallest of contributions to the second day, Brydon Carse pitched excellently when eventually given the chance, with Ben McKinney and Cox included in his three dismissals.

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