Pope Reinforces Status to England Cricket's No 3 Role with Impressive 90 Against Lions

It is hard to determine how significant of the English team's preparatory fixture will end up being meaningful when their Ashes contest kicks off a short distance away at Perth Stadium on the coming Friday – a short span in geography or duration but ages away in significance and atmosphere – but if it managed only boosting Pope's self-belief, that by itself has rendered the effort valuable.

The English side's No 3 – this fact is certainly totally clear – built on his first-innings hundred by scoring another 90 in the second, and the truly remarkable was not merely the number of runs but the style in which they were accumulated. At times the player seemed dominant, hitting a dozen fours and a couple of sixes, timing the ball beautifully but with fierce intent.

This was only a exhibition game against a Lions team that deployed fully 11 bowlers during a game held in before a few dozen of spectators in a local ground, but it was nevertheless extremely noteworthy. For the record, the England team, chasing of 202 after the Lions closed their follow-on innings on 251 for six, succeeded by a margin of five wickets once Smith sped the team over the winning target with a series of fours and sixes.

Zak Crawley and Duckett, the other two major first-innings performers, both fell short in the follow-up, while Joe Root made additional runs – 31 on this time – but was not significantly more assured, before being confused and subsequently bowled by Will Jacks. Harry Brook met an similar fate shortly after.

Shoaib Bashir – who finished the game having bowled 12 bowling spells for each side – will have faced some of the strokes he bowled to pretty aggressive. His first six overs against the Lions went for 56, with Ben McKinney tucking in to pitching that if not exactly poor was certainly not overly dangerous.

At the end the sixth of those deliveries, England's three other bowlers had allowed nearly exactly the identical amount of points – 57 – from 15, though the bowler grew a slightly less giving as time passed, conceding 27 from his remaining six. He secured one wicket, taking a sharp, low-down catch, leaning to his right side, to finish Jacob Bethell's batting stint for 70, facing 80 deliveries.

Bethell, compensating for scoring only a small score in the opening knock, was a member of three fifty-scorers in the Lions' top four. McKinney's returns from opener were steadier than the scores of their No 3: he notched 66 in their first innings and went two better in their follow-up, using 61 balls to reach his half-century, with five and two sixes, both from Bashir's's pitching. Bethell reached 68 prior to a mishit to Stokes at cover position, who held a stooping catch at shin level.

Jordan Cox showed comparable reliability, and followed his first-innings 53 with a further 57, at just over a run per delivery. He produced a few outstandingly beautiful strokes during his innings, including a straight drive and a pull shot from successive Brydon Carse deliveries to attain his fifty.

Having missed the first day of this game with a illness and contributed only the least significant of efforts to the second day, Carse pitched brilliantly when finally afforded the opportunity, with McKinney and Jordan Cox included in his three wickets.

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