Pope Strengthens Claim to England Cricket's No 3 Role with Bold 90 Against Lions

It's tough to determine how significant of England's practice game will be remotely meaningful when their Ashes battle kicks off 10km away at the Perth venue on Friday – no distance in space or time but worlds away in importance and atmosphere – but if it managed solely enhancing Ollie Pope's assurance, that by itself has rendered the effort valuable.

The English side's No 3 – this fact is certainly absolutely clear – followed his first-innings ton by scoring an additional 90 in the second, and what was remarkable was not so much the quantity of runs but the manner in which they were accumulated. At times the young batsman appeared commanding, hitting a twelve fours and a pair of maximums, connecting with the ball perfectly but with fierce purpose.

This was only a practice match against a Lions squad that used a total of 11 pitchers throughout a match played in amid a handful of people in a open field, but it was nevertheless very praiseworthy. For the record, the England team, needing of 202 following the Lions closed their follow-on innings on 251 for six, triumphed by five wickets in hand once Smith raced the team past the finish line with a stream of boundaries.

Crawley and Duckett, the other two significant first-innings' performers, both failed in the second knock, while Root added further points – 31 on this time – but was far from more assured, then being puzzled and accordingly bowled by Will Jacks. Harry Brook met an identical outcome a little later.

Shoaib Bashir – who ended the game having bowled 12 overs for each side – will have found part of the strokes he bowled to rather hostile. His first six deliveries against the Lions went for 56, with McKinney tucking in to pitching that if not entirely poor was certainly far from dangerous.

By the conclusion the sixth of those overs, England's three other bowlers had conceded nearly exactly the identical total of runs – 57 – from 15, though Bashir became a slightly less giving later on, allowing 27 from his final six. He claimed one dismissal, making a sharp, low-down catch, leaning to his right side, to finish Bethell's innings for 70, off 80 balls.

Jacob Bethell, compensating for scoring only a small score in the opening knock, was a member of three players with fifties in the Lions' top four. McKinney's performances from opener were steadier than those from their number three: he made 66 in their first batting effort and improved by two in their second innings, using 61 deliveries for his 50 runs, with five fours and two maximums, both off Bashir's deliveries. Jacob Bethell reached 68 before a mis-hit to Stokes at cover, who made a bending catch at ankle height.

Jordan Cox exhibited comparable reliability, and built on his initial innings' 53 with an additional 57, at slightly more than a run a ball. He played a few remarkably beautiful shots en route, such as a drive down the ground and a pull from successive Carse deliveries to reach his 50 runs.

After missing the first day of this game with a illness and contributed just the most minor of efforts to the follow-up, Brydon Carse pitched superbly when finally given the chance, with McKinney and Jordan Cox among his three scalps.

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