Ollie Pope Reinforces Position to England's No 3 Spot with Bold 90 Versus Lions

It is difficult to gauge how much of the English team's warm-up game will end up being relevant when their Ashes series campaign kicks off a short distance away at Perth Stadium on the coming Friday – a brief gap in geography or duration but light years away in importance and mood – but if it managed nothing more than enhancing Ollie Pope's assurance, that on its own has made the effort beneficial.

England's number three batsman – that point is certainly totally established – built on his first-innings century by adding a further 90 in the second, and the truly impressive was less about the quantity of runs but the manner in which they were scored. At times the player seemed imperious, striking a twelve boundaries and a pair of sixes, connecting with the ball sweetly but with fierce determination.

This was just a exhibition game versus a England Lions squad that employed a total of 11 pitchers throughout a contest held in amid a handful of spectators in a public park, but it was nonetheless hugely praiseworthy. To note, the England team, chasing of 202 once the Lions closed their second innings on 251 for six, succeeded by five wickets in hand once Jamie Smith sped the team over the winning target with a stream of fours and sixes.

Crawley and Ben Duckett, the other two big first-innings' achievers, both were dismissed in the second knock, while Joe Root added further points – 31 on this instance – but was far from more convincing, prior to being confused and accordingly out by Jacks. Harry Brook experienced an identical outcome soon afterwards.

Shoaib Bashir – who concluded the match having delivered 12 overs for either team – will have found some of the hitting he confronted pretty challenging. His first six deliveries against the Lions went for 56, with McKinney taking advantage to deliveries that if not entirely wayward was surely far from intimidating.

By the conclusion the sixth spell of those overs, England's other bowlers had conceded almost precisely the same total of runs – 57 – from 15, though the bowler grew a somewhat less giving as time passed, conceding 27 from his remaining six. He took a single wicket, making a sharp, low grab, falling to his right side, to finish Jacob Bethell's batting stint for 70, facing 80 deliveries.

Bethell, compensating for scoring only three in the initial innings, was among three half-centurions in the Lions' top order. Ben McKinney's performances from opener were more reliable than the scores of their No 3: he made 66 in their first batting effort and improved by two in their follow-up, using 61 deliveries to reach his fifty, with five fours and a couple six-hit shots, each against Bashir's bowling. Bethell made 68 then a mishit to Ben Stokes at cover, who took a stooping grab at low down.

Cox exhibited similar consistency, and backed up his first-innings 53 with another 57, at just over a run per delivery. He played several exceptionally elegant shots en route, including a drive down the ground and a pull shot against successive Brydon Carse balls to attain his 50 runs.

After missing the first day of this match with a stomach issue and made only the smallest of contributions to the follow-up, Brydon Carse pitched superbly when eventually afforded the opportunity, with McKinney and Cox part of his three scalps.

This report may be updated