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

It is tough to know how significant of the English team's preparatory fixture will prove relevant when their Ashes series campaign begins not far at Perth Stadium on the coming Friday – a brief gap in geography or duration but worlds away in import and environment – but if it accomplished only enhancing Ollie Pope's assurance, that by itself has rendered the effort valuable.

England's number three batsman – that much is certainly completely established – followed his first-innings ton by adding a further 90 in the second, and the truly remarkable was not so much the quantity of scored runs but the style in which they were made. Periodically the player appeared dominant, striking a twelve fours and a two of maximums, connecting with the ball sweetly but with fierce purpose.

It was just a exhibition game against a England Lions side that deployed fully 11 pitchers during a contest staged in before a handful of onlookers in a public park, but it was nevertheless very noteworthy. Officially, the England team, needing of 202 after the Lions ended their second innings on 251 for six, won by five wickets in hand once Jamie Smith hurried the team past the finish line with a series of boundaries.

Zak Crawley and Duckett, the two other major first-innings successes, both were dismissed in the second innings, while Root added additional points – 31 on this time – but was not significantly more convincing, then being confused and subsequently bowled by Jacks. Brook suffered an same end soon afterwards.

Bashir – who concluded the game having delivered 12 overs for each side – will have found some of the batting he faced quite aggressive. His first six overs versus the Lions cost 56, with McKinney tucking in to deliveries that if not exactly poor was surely far from dangerous.

At the end the sixth over of those deliveries, England's other bowlers had conceded roughly the same amount of runs – 57 – from 15, though Bashir turned a little less generous as time passed, allowing 27 from his remaining six. He secured a single wicket, holding a sharp, low snare, falling to his right, to end Bethell's batting stint for 70, off 80 balls.

Jacob Bethell, making up for scoring merely three in the opening knock, was among three players with fifties in the Lions team's top four. Ben McKinney's returns from opening batsman were steadier than those of their No 3: he scored 66 in their first innings and went two better in their second innings, taking 61 balls to reach his fifty, with five fours and a couple sixes, the pair against Bashir's's bowling. Jacob Bethell reached 68 before a mis-hit to Ben Stokes at cover position, who held a stooping grab at shin level.

Cox exhibited comparable reliability, and built on his first-innings 53 with another 57, at slightly more than a run a ball. There were some exceptionally elegant strokes en route, featuring a straight drive and a hook from consecutive Carse deliveries to achieve his half century.

Following his absence from the initial day of this game with a stomach upset and provided just the least significant of efforts to the second, Carse delivered brilliantly when at last given the opportunity, with McKinney and Cox included in his three dismissals.

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