Pope Reinforces Status to England's Number Three Slot with Strong 90 Versus Lions

It's tough to gauge how significant of England's warm-up game will be remotely meaningful when their Ashes series campaign kicks off 10km away at Perth Stadium on the coming Friday – a short span in geography or duration but worlds away in significance and mood – but if it achieved nothing more than strengthening Ollie Pope's self-belief, that by itself has rendered the endeavor beneficial.

The English side's No 3 – this fact is surely completely certain – followed his initial innings century by adding an additional 90 in the second innings, and the truly impressive was less about the total of scored runs but the way in which they were made. On occasion the 27-year-old seemed dominant, hitting a dozen fours and a pair of sixes, timing the ball beautifully but with devilish purpose.

This was just a friendly versus a England Lions team that used fully 11 pitchers across a game played in before a few dozen of people in a open field, but it was nonetheless hugely praiseworthy. Officially, England, chasing of 202 after the Lions ended their follow-on innings on 251 for six, triumphed by a margin of five wickets after Smith sped the team past the finish line with a series of fours and sixes.

Crawley and Duckett, the other two significant first-innings' achievers, both failed in the follow-up, while Joe Root scored several more runs – 31 on this time – but was far from more assured, prior to being puzzled and duly dismissed by Will Jacks. Brook experienced an identical end a little later.

Shoaib Bashir – who ended the game having delivered 12 bowling spells for each side – will have found some of the strokes he faced quite challenging. His initial six deliveries versus the Lions cost 56, with Ben McKinney taking advantage to bowling that if not completely poor was definitely not overly intimidating.

After the sixth spell of that period, the English side's three other bowlers had allowed almost precisely the identical amount of runs – 57 – from 15, though Bashir grew a little less generous in time, giving up 27 from his last six. He claimed one dismissal, holding a clever, diving snare, leaning to his right side, to end Bethell's knock for 70, from 80 balls.

Bethell, making up for achieving merely three in the initial innings, was among three players half-centurions in the Lions team's leading batsmen. McKinney's performances from opening batsman were more reliable than those of their number three: he notched 66 in their first batting effort and improved by two in their second innings, facing 61 deliveries to reach his half-century, with five fours and two maximums, each from Bashir's pitching. Bethell made 68 before a mis-hit to Ben Stokes at cover, who took a stooping grab at ankle height.

Jordan Cox showed similar consistency, and backed up his first-innings 53 with an additional 57, at just over a run a ball. There were some outstandingly elegant shots on the way, featuring a straight hit and a pull off back-to-back Carse balls to achieve his half century.

Following his absence from the opening day of this fixture with a stomach upset and contributed only the smallest of inputs to the second, Brydon Carse bowled brilliantly when at last given the opportunity, with Ben McKinney and Cox included in his three dismissals.

This report will update