Pope Reinforces Status to England Cricket's Number Three Role with Strong 90 Against Lions

It is hard to know how much of England's warm-up fixture will be remotely meaningful when their Ashes contest starts a short distance away at the Perth venue on Friday – a brief gap in space or time but worlds away in importance and atmosphere – but if it accomplished solely boosting Pope's confidence, that by itself has rendered the effort beneficial.

England's number three batsman – that much is certainly completely clear – followed his first-innings century by scoring a further 90 in the second innings, and what was notable was not so much the total of scored runs but the way in which they were accumulated. On occasion the player appeared commanding, striking a twelve boundaries and a couple of maximums, connecting with the ball perfectly but with fierce intent.

This was only a practice match versus a England Lions team that used fully 11 pitchers across a match staged in before a few dozen of spectators in a open field, but it was still extremely impressive. For the record, England, needing of 202 following the Lions closed their second innings on 251 for six, won by five wickets when Jamie Smith raced the team across the conclusion with a stream of boundaries.

Zak Crawley and Duckett, the other two major first-innings' performers, both fell short in the second knock, while Root scored further runs – 31 on this time – but was far from more assured, then being bemused and duly bowled by Will Jacks. Harry Brook experienced an identical outcome a little later.

Bashir – who ended the match having bowled 12 bowling spells for both teams – will have found some of the batting he faced pretty hostile. His first six overs versus the Lions went for 56, with McKinney feasting to pitching that if not exactly loose was definitely not overly intimidating.

By the conclusion the sixth spell of those overs, the English side's three other pitchers had allowed nearly exactly the equivalent number of points – 57 – from 15, though the bowler became a little less generous later on, conceding 27 from his last six. He secured one dismissal, holding a sharp, diving catch, diving to his right side, to end Jacob Bethell's innings for 70, facing 80 balls.

Jacob Bethell, compensating for managing just three runs in the opening knock, was a member of a trio of players with fifties in the Lions' top order. McKinney's scores from opening batsman were more consistent than those of their number three: he made 66 in their first innings and scored 68 in their follow-up, facing 61 balls for his fifty, with five and two six-hit shots, the pair off Bashir's bowling. Jacob Bethell reached 68 before a mishit to Ben Stokes at cover, who made a low catch at low down.

Jordan Cox showed similar steadiness, and backed up his first-innings 53 with a further 57, at slightly more than a scoring rate of one. He produced some exceptionally beautiful strokes during his innings, featuring a straight hit and a hook from consecutive Carse deliveries to achieve his fifty.

Having missed the opening day of this fixture with a illness and contributed merely the least significant of efforts to the follow-up, Brydon Carse bowled superbly when eventually provided the shot, with Ben McKinney and Cox part of his three wickets.

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