Pope Reinforces Position to England Cricket's Number Three Role with Bold 90 Versus Lions

It is tough to gauge how relevant of England's preparatory game will prove relevant when their Ashes battle kicks off 10km away at the Perth venue on Friday – a short span in geography or duration but ages away in importance and mood – but if it accomplished only strengthening Pope's confidence, that alone has rendered the endeavor valuable.

England's No 3 – that much is surely totally clear – built on his initial innings century by notching another 90 in the follow-up innings, and the most notable was not merely the quantity of scored runs but the style in which they were accumulated. At times the player looked imperious, hitting a dozen fours and a pair of sixes, connecting with the ball perfectly but with aggressive purpose.

This was only a exhibition game against a Lions team that employed a total of 11 bowlers across a game played in amid a few dozen of people in a local ground, but it was still hugely impressive. For the record, England, set a target of 202 once the Lions declared their follow-on innings on 251 for six, won by five wickets after Jamie Smith sped the team past the winning target with a series of fours and sixes.

Zak Crawley and Duckett, the two other big first-innings' achievers, both were dismissed in the second knock, while Root scored further runs – 31 on this instance – but was not significantly more convincing, then being confused and subsequently bowled by Will Jacks. Brook met an similar fate shortly after.

Bashir – who finished the game having bowled 12 overs for both teams – will have encountered some of the strokes he confronted rather challenging. His first six deliveries versus the Lions conceded 56, with Ben McKinney tucking in to bowling that if not entirely wayward was surely not overly dangerous.

After the sixth over of those deliveries, the English side's remaining three pitchers had allowed roughly the same total of runs – 57 – from 15, though Bashir turned a slightly less generous in time, conceding 27 from his remaining six. He took one wicket, holding a clever, diving grab, diving to his right, to conclude Bethell's knock for 70, facing 80 balls.

Jacob Bethell, redeeming achieving merely three in the opening knock, was one of a trio of fifty-scorers in the Lions team's leading batsmen. Ben McKinney's returns from opening batsman were more reliable than those from their number three: he scored 66 in their first innings and improved by two in their second, facing 61 deliveries to reach his 50 runs, with five boundaries and a couple maximums, both from Bashir's deliveries. Jacob Bethell got to 68 before a mis-hit to Stokes at cover position, who took a stooping grab at ankle height.

Cox showed like reliability, and backed up his first-innings 53 with a further 57, at about a run a ball. He produced a few outstandingly elegant hits on the way, such as a straight drive and a pull shot against consecutive Carse deliveries to reach his half century.

Following his absence from the opening day of this fixture with a stomach upset and made merely the most minor of inputs to the second day, Brydon Carse delivered excellently when at last given the chance, with McKinney and Cox among his three wickets.

This report may be updated