Ollie Pope Strengthens Status to England's No 3 Slot with Strong 90 Versus Lions

It's tough to determine how much of England's practice match will end up being meaningful when their Ashes battle kicks off 10km away at the Perth venue on Friday – a short span in geography or duration but worlds away in significance and mood – but if it managed nothing more than boosting Pope's confidence, that by itself has made the effort valuable.

England's number three batsman – that point is certainly completely certain – built on his initial innings century by notching another 90 in the follow-up innings, and what was notable was less about the quantity of scored runs but the manner in which they were made. At times the young batsman looked commanding, hitting a twelve boundaries and a couple of sixes, timing the ball sweetly but with aggressive determination.

It was only a friendly against a England Lions side that used a total of 11 pitchers across a game played in amid a handful of people in a local ground, but it was nevertheless extremely praiseworthy. To note, England, needing of 202 after the Lions declared their second innings on 251 for six, triumphed by five wickets after Jamie Smith raced the team across the finish line with a stream of boundaries.

Crawley and Duckett, the remaining significant first-innings performers, both were dismissed in the second innings, while Joe Root made further points – 31 on this instance – but was not significantly more dominant, prior to being puzzled and accordingly dismissed by Jacks. Brook suffered an similar outcome a little later.

Shoaib Bashir – who concluded the match having bowled 12 overs for either team – will have found some of the batting he confronted pretty hostile. His opening six deliveries versus the Lions went for 56, with Ben McKinney feasting to bowling that if not completely poor was definitely not very intimidating.

After the sixth over of that period, England's remaining three pitchers had given away nearly exactly the equivalent total of runs – 57 – from 15, though Bashir grew a somewhat less generous in time, allowing 27 from his last six. He took a single wicket, taking a smart, low-down catch, diving to his right, to finish Bethell's innings for 70, facing 80 balls.

Bethell, compensating for achieving merely three in the first innings, was a member of three fifty-scorers in the Lions' leading batsmen. McKinney's performances from opening batsman were more consistent than the scores of their number three: he scored 66 in their first batting effort and scored 68 in their second innings, facing 61 deliveries over his half-century, with five and two six-hit shots, both off Bashir's's deliveries. Bethell got to 68 then a mishit to Ben Stokes at cover position, who made a stooping grab at ankle height.

Cox exhibited similar steadiness, and built on his initial innings' 53 with another 57, at just over a run per delivery. There were some remarkably handsome strokes en route, including a straight hit and a hook off successive Carse balls to achieve his 50 runs.

Having missed the initial day of this match with a stomach upset and contributed only the least significant of contributions to the follow-up, Brydon Carse pitched brilliantly when finally given the chance, with Ben McKinney and Jordan Cox included in his three dismissals.

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