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

It's hard to gauge how significant of England's practice match will end up being relevant when their Ashes series battle kicks off not far at Perth Stadium on Friday – a short span in space or time but worlds away in importance and mood – but if it accomplished only boosting Pope's confidence, that on its own has rendered the effort beneficial.

The English side's number three batsman – that point is certainly totally established – followed his initial innings hundred by scoring a further 90 in the second, and the truly impressive was not merely the quantity of scored runs but the way in which they were made. At times the player looked dominant, smashing a dozen fours and a couple of sixes, hitting the ball beautifully but with devilish intent.

It was merely a friendly against a Lions squad that deployed exactly 11 pitchers across a game staged in front of a small group of onlookers in a local ground, but it was nonetheless hugely impressive. Officially, England, chasing of 202 after the Lions closed their second innings on 251 for six, succeeded by five wickets in hand after Smith sped the team over the winning target with a stream of fours and sixes.

Zak Crawley and Duckett, the remaining significant first-innings achievers, both fell short in the second innings, while Joe Root made additional runs – 31 on this occasion – but was not enormously more convincing, then being bemused and accordingly dismissed by Jacks. Brook experienced an same end shortly after.

Bashir – who ended the fixture having bowled 12 bowling spells for each side – will have found part of the strokes he bowled to quite challenging. His initial six overs versus the Lions cost 56, with McKinney feasting to bowling that if not completely poor was definitely far from threatening.

By the conclusion the sixth spell of those overs, England's other pitchers had given away roughly the equivalent total of points – 57 – from 15, though the bowler became a slightly less generous as time passed, conceding 27 from his final six. He secured a single wicket, taking a sharp, diving catch, leaning to his right side, to end Bethell's batting stint for 70, off 80 deliveries.

Jacob Bethell, compensating for managing just three in the first innings, was one of a trio of players with fifties in the Lions team's top four. McKinney's scores from opening batsman were more reliable than the scores of their number three: he scored 66 in their first innings and improved by two in their follow-up, taking 61 deliveries to reach his 50 runs, with five fours and two maximums, each off Bashir's's pitching. Bethell reached 68 before a mis-hit to Stokes at cover, who made a stooping catch at shin level.

Jordan Cox displayed comparable reliability, and followed his first-innings 53 with another 57, at about a scoring rate of one. He produced several remarkably elegant shots on the way, including a drive down the ground and a pull off consecutive Carse balls to achieve his half century.

Having missed the initial day of this game with a stomach issue and contributed just the smallest of inputs to the second day, Brydon Carse delivered excellently when at last afforded the shot, with McKinney and Cox included in his three dismissals.

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