Ollie Pope Reinforces Position to England's Number Three Role with Strong 90 Against Lions

It's hard to determine how significant of England's practice fixture will prove important when their Ashes contest kicks off a short distance away at the Perth venue on Friday – a brief gap in geography or duration but worlds away in importance and environment – but if it accomplished nothing more than strengthening Ollie Pope's confidence, that on its own has made the endeavor worthwhile.

England's No 3 – this fact is undoubtedly absolutely clear – built on his initial innings century by adding another 90 in the second innings, and what was notable was not merely the total of runs but the style in which they were made. On occasion the player looked imperious, striking a dozen fours and a pair of sixes, hitting the ball beautifully but with devilish purpose.

It was just a practice match versus a Lions squad that employed a total of 11 pitchers during a match staged in before a few dozen of onlookers in a local ground, but it was still very noteworthy. To note, England, chasing of 202 after the Lions ended their follow-on innings on 251 for six, succeeded by five wickets once Jamie Smith sped the team across the finish line with a series of boundaries.

Crawley and Ben Duckett, the remaining big first-innings successes, both were dismissed in the follow-up, while Root scored further runs – 31 on this time – but was not enormously more convincing, prior to being bemused and duly dismissed by Jacks. Brook experienced an similar outcome shortly after.

Bashir – who concluded the fixture having delivered 12 bowling spells for each side – will have found a portion of the strokes he faced rather aggressive. His initial six overs against the Lions cost 56, with McKinney tucking in to bowling that if not entirely wayward was surely not overly dangerous.

After the sixth spell of those deliveries, the English side's remaining three bowlers had given away roughly the same number of points – 57 – from 15, though Bashir grew a little less generous in time, conceding 27 from his remaining six. He took a single wicket, making a sharp, low grab, leaning to his right side, to finish Bethell's knock for 70, from 80 deliveries.

Bethell, redeeming achieving just three in the opening knock, was a member of three half-centurions in the Lions' top four. McKinney's returns from opening batsman were more reliable than the scores of their No 3: he notched 66 in their first innings and scored 68 in their second innings, using 61 balls over his 50 runs, with five boundaries and two sixes, both from Bashir's's pitching. Bethell got to 68 prior to a mis-hit to Ben Stokes at cover position, who held a stooping catch at ankle height.

Jordan Cox displayed comparable consistency, and followed his first-innings 53 with a further 57, at about a run a ball. He played some outstandingly beautiful shots en route, including a drive down the ground and a pull shot off back-to-back Brydon Carse deliveries to reach his fifty.

After missing the initial day of this fixture with a illness and provided just the least significant of inputs to the second, Carse pitched superbly when at last provided the opportunity, with McKinney and Cox included in his three wickets.

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