Ollie Pope Strengthens Status to England Cricket's No 3 Role with Strong 90 Against Lions

It is difficult to determine how much of England's preparatory game will be remotely relevant when their Ashes contest starts not far at Perth Stadium on Friday – a brief gap in space or time but light years away in import and atmosphere – but if it accomplished nothing more than strengthening Pope's confidence, that on its own has rendered the exercise worthwhile.

The English side's No 3 – this fact is certainly totally established – followed his first-innings century by scoring another 90 in the second innings, and what was impressive was less about the number of scored runs but the manner in which they were scored. At times the young batsman looked dominant, hitting a dozen boundaries and a two of maximums, connecting with the ball sweetly but with fierce intent.

This was merely a practice match against a England Lions side that deployed a total of 11 bowlers during a game staged in amid a handful of onlookers in a public park, but it was still hugely impressive. Officially, the England team, needing of 202 after the Lions ended their follow-on innings on 251 for six, won by a margin of five wickets when Jamie Smith raced the team across the conclusion with a series of boundaries.

Crawley and Ben Duckett, the other two significant first-innings successes, both failed in the second knock, while Root scored additional points – 31 on this occasion – but was not significantly more dominant, then being confused and duly out by Will Jacks. Brook met an identical fate shortly after.

Shoaib Bashir – who ended the game having delivered 12 overs for both teams – will have encountered part of the batting he confronted quite aggressive. His initial six overs against the Lions went for 56, with McKinney feasting to pitching that if not exactly poor was definitely not overly dangerous.

At the end the sixth over of those overs, England's remaining three pitchers had given away almost precisely the equivalent number of points – 57 – from 15, though Bashir grew a little less generous in time, giving up 27 from his final six. He claimed one wicket, holding a clever, diving grab, falling to his right, to conclude Jacob Bethell's batting stint for 70, off 80 balls.

Bethell, redeeming managing just three runs in the first innings, was a member of three players with fifties in the Lions' top order. McKinney's returns from opening batsman were more reliable than the scores of their No 3: he scored 66 in their first batting effort and scored 68 in their follow-up, facing 61 balls for his half-century, with five fours and a couple sixes, both off Bashir's's bowling. Bethell got to 68 before a mishit to Ben Stokes at cover position, who took a stooping catch at low down.

Cox showed similar reliability, and built on his initial innings' 53 with another 57, at slightly more than a scoring rate of one. There were some remarkably beautiful hits en route, including a drive down the ground and a pull off consecutive Carse deliveries to achieve his half century.

After missing the first day of this fixture with a stomach issue and contributed only the smallest of efforts to the second day, Carse pitched superbly when eventually given the chance, with McKinney and Jordan Cox part of his three scalps.

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