Pope Reinforces Position to England Cricket's Number Three Spot with Impressive 90 Against Lions

It's difficult to know how much of England's practice match will prove relevant when their Ashes campaign kicks off 10km away at Perth Stadium on the coming Friday – a short span in geography or duration but light years away in importance and mood – but if it accomplished nothing more than boosting Ollie Pope's confidence, that by itself has rendered the effort worthwhile.

England's number three batsman – that much is certainly absolutely clear – built on his initial innings ton by scoring an additional 90 in the second, and what was remarkable was less about the number of scored runs but the style in which they were made. Periodically the 27-year-old seemed dominant, hitting a dozen fours and a pair of sixes, hitting the ball perfectly but with devilish intent.

This was merely a friendly against a Lions side that used fully 11 pitchers across a contest held in before a handful of people in a open field, but it was still extremely praiseworthy. To note, England, chasing of 202 following the Lions declared their follow-on innings on 251 for six, won by five wickets in hand once Jamie Smith raced the team over the winning target with a series of boundaries.

Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, the remaining significant first-innings' successes, both fell short in the second innings, while Joe Root scored additional points – 31 on this time – but was not significantly more dominant, prior to being bemused and subsequently bowled by Jacks. Harry Brook experienced an similar end a little later.

Bashir – who concluded the fixture having delivered 12 bowling spells for each side – will have faced a portion of the batting he bowled to pretty challenging. His opening six overs against the Lions went for 56, with Ben McKinney tucking in to pitching that if not exactly wayward was certainly not overly intimidating.

At the end the sixth spell of that period, the English side's three other pitchers had conceded almost precisely the identical total of points – 57 – from 15, though the bowler became a slightly less leaky as time passed, giving up 27 from his last six. He secured one wicket, making a sharp, diving snare, diving to his right side, to end Bethell's batting stint for 70, from 80 balls.

Bethell, making up for achieving just three in the initial innings, was a member of three players players with fifties in the Lions' top four. McKinney's returns from opener were steadier than the scores of their No 3: he scored 66 in their first batting effort and improved by two in their follow-up, using 61 deliveries to reach his half-century, with five and a couple six-hit shots, the pair off Bashir's bowling. Jacob Bethell got to 68 before a poor shot to Stokes at cover position, who held a stooping catch at shin level.

Cox showed similar consistency, and followed his initial innings' 53 with another 57, at about a run per delivery. He produced several remarkably handsome hits on the way, such as a drive down the ground and a pull against back-to-back Carse deliveries to achieve his fifty.

Following his absence from the first day of this fixture with a stomach issue and made only the smallest of contributions to the second, Brydon Carse bowled brilliantly when finally provided the opportunity, with Ben McKinney and Cox included in his three scalps.

The coverage will update