Ollie Pope Cements Status to England Cricket's No 3 Role with Bold 90 Versus Lions

It's tough to know how relevant of the English team's warm-up match will prove relevant when their Ashes series campaign kicks off a short distance away at the Perth venue on Friday – a short span in space or time but ages away in import and atmosphere – but if it accomplished solely boosting Ollie Pope's assurance, that by itself has rendered the exercise beneficial.

The English side's number three batsman – that point is undoubtedly totally certain – built on his initial innings hundred by adding a further 90 in the second innings, and what was remarkable was less about the number of scored runs but the way in which they were made. On occasion the young batsman appeared dominant, smashing a twelve boundaries and a couple of sixes, connecting with the ball sweetly but with fierce purpose.

It was merely a practice match versus a England Lions team that employed fully 11 pitchers throughout a game held in front of a handful of spectators in a open field, but it was nevertheless hugely praiseworthy. For the record, the England team, chasing of 202 once the Lions closed their follow-on innings on 251 for six, won by five wickets after Jamie Smith hurried the team across the winning target with a stream of boundaries.

Crawley and Duckett, the two other major first-innings performers, both failed in the second knock, while Joe Root added several more runs – 31 on this instance – but was not enormously more assured, prior to being confused and subsequently bowled by Jacks. Harry Brook experienced an identical fate shortly after.

Shoaib Bashir – who finished the game having bowled 12 overs for both teams – will have found part of the hitting he confronted pretty aggressive. His opening six overs versus the Lions conceded 56, with McKinney taking advantage to pitching that if not entirely wayward was certainly far from dangerous.

At the end the sixth of those overs, the English side's remaining three pitchers had conceded nearly exactly the equivalent total of runs – 57 – from 15, though the bowler became a slightly less giving as time passed, giving up 27 from his last six. He claimed one wicket, taking a smart, low grab, falling to his right, to finish Bethell's batting stint for 70, off 80 balls.

Jacob Bethell, compensating for scoring just a small score in the initial innings, was one of a trio of players with fifties in the Lions team's leading batsmen. McKinney's scores from opener were more consistent than those of their number three: he notched 66 in their initial knock and improved by two in their follow-up, taking 61 balls for his half-century, with five boundaries and two six-hit shots, both from Bashir's deliveries. Bethell got to 68 then a mishit to Ben Stokes at cover position, who made a stooping grab at shin level.

Cox displayed comparable consistency, and built on his initial innings' 53 with a further 57, at about a run a ball. He produced a few outstandingly elegant shots on the way, featuring a straight drive and a hook against consecutive Carse deliveries to achieve his 50 runs.

Having missed the first day of this match with a illness and made just the most minor of efforts to the follow-up, Carse pitched superbly when finally afforded the opportunity, with Ben McKinney and Cox included in his three wickets.

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