Ollie Pope Cements Status to England Cricket's Number Three Spot with Strong 90 Against Lions

It is hard to determine how significant of the English team's preparatory fixture will end up being meaningful when their Ashes campaign starts a short distance away at the Perth venue on Friday – no distance in space or time but worlds away in importance and environment – but if it accomplished nothing more than boosting Ollie Pope's assurance, that alone has rendered the effort beneficial.

The English side's No 3 – that point is surely totally clear – followed his first-innings ton by adding an additional 90 in the second, and what was notable was not so much the quantity of runs but the way in which they were accumulated. On occasion the 27-year-old appeared commanding, striking a dozen boundaries and a couple of maximums, connecting with the ball beautifully but with fierce intent.

This was just a friendly against a England Lions side that used a total of 11 bowlers during a match staged in front of a small group of onlookers in a open field, but it was nonetheless very praiseworthy. Officially, England, chasing of 202 after the Lions declared their follow-on innings on 251 for six, triumphed by five wickets when Smith raced the team across the conclusion with a stream of fours and sixes.

Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, the other two major first-innings' performers, both were dismissed in the second knock, while Root scored further points – 31 on this time – but was far from more assured, then being bemused and duly out by Will Jacks. Harry Brook suffered an similar outcome a little later.

Bashir – who ended the game having delivered 12 overs for either team – will have found some of the strokes he bowled to quite hostile. His first six deliveries against the Lions conceded 56, with McKinney tucking in to bowling that if not exactly loose was definitely not very dangerous.

By the conclusion the sixth of those overs, England's remaining three pitchers had conceded roughly the equivalent amount of runs – 57 – from 15, though the bowler grew a little less giving later on, allowing 27 from his final six. He secured a single wicket, taking a clever, diving snare, leaning to his right, to finish Bethell's innings for 70, from 80 deliveries.

Jacob Bethell, compensating for scoring merely a small score in the first innings, was one of a trio of half-centurions in the Lions' top order. McKinney's scores from opening batsman were steadier than those of their No 3: he scored 66 in their initial knock and improved by two in their follow-up, facing 61 deliveries for his 50 runs, with five fours and two six-hit shots, the pair from Bashir's bowling. Jacob Bethell reached 68 before a mishit to Ben Stokes at cover, who took a stooping catch at shin level.

Jordan Cox showed like steadiness, and backed up his first-innings 53 with an additional 57, at just over a run per delivery. There were several outstandingly elegant shots en route, including a straight hit and a pull shot against successive Carse deliveries to reach his half century.

Having missed the initial day of this match with a illness and made merely the most minor of efforts to the follow-up, Brydon Carse bowled brilliantly when finally provided the shot, with McKinney and Cox among his three scalps.

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