Ollie Pope Reinforces Claim to England Cricket's Number Three Spot with Strong 90 Against Lions

It's tough to gauge how significant of the English team's preparatory match will be remotely relevant when their Ashes campaign starts a short distance away at Perth Stadium on the coming Friday – no distance in geography or duration but ages away in importance and atmosphere – but if it accomplished nothing more than boosting Pope's assurance, that on its own has rendered the endeavor worthwhile.

The English side's No 3 – that point is undoubtedly completely certain – built on his initial innings ton by adding another 90 in the second innings, and the truly notable was not so much the quantity of scored runs but the way in which they were made. Periodically the young batsman seemed dominant, smashing a dozen boundaries and a two of sixes, connecting with the ball sweetly but with aggressive determination.

It was merely a practice match versus a England Lions team that employed a total of 11 bowlers during a match staged in amid a handful of onlookers in a public park, but it was nonetheless hugely noteworthy. Officially, the England team, set a target of 202 following the Lions closed their follow-on innings on 251 for six, succeeded by five wickets in hand once Jamie Smith sped the team across the winning target with a flurry of boundaries.

Zak Crawley and Duckett, the remaining significant first-innings' successes, both were dismissed in the follow-up, while Root scored several more runs – 31 on this instance – but was far from more convincing, prior to being bemused and duly out by Jacks. Brook met an same fate soon afterwards.

Shoaib Bashir – who finished the fixture having bowled 12 overs for either team – will have found a portion of the hitting he bowled to pretty aggressive. His opening six overs versus the Lions cost 56, with Ben McKinney feasting to bowling that if not exactly poor was certainly far from dangerous.

After the sixth over of that period, the English side's three other bowlers had given away roughly the same number of runs – 57 – from 15, though the bowler turned a slightly less giving later on, allowing 27 from his last six. He claimed one dismissal, taking a smart, low catch, diving to his right, to finish Jacob Bethell's knock for 70, from 80 deliveries.

Jacob Bethell, compensating for scoring merely a small score in the first innings, was a member of three players fifty-scorers in the Lions' top four. McKinney's scores from opening batsman were more consistent than the scores of their number three: he made 66 in their first innings and improved by two in their second, taking 61 balls to reach his fifty, with five and two maximums, the pair against Bashir's bowling. Jacob Bethell got to 68 prior to a mis-hit to Stokes at cover position, who made a low catch at ankle height.

Cox displayed comparable reliability, and followed his initial innings' 53 with a further 57, at slightly more than a run a ball. He produced some remarkably beautiful shots en route, featuring a straight hit and a hook off back-to-back Carse balls to reach his 50 runs.

After missing the first day of this game with a stomach issue and contributed merely the most minor of contributions to the second, Brydon Carse pitched brilliantly when at last given the opportunity, with McKinney and Jordan Cox included in his three scalps.

This report may be updated