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

It's hard to determine how much of the English team's practice match will prove relevant when their Ashes series campaign begins 10km away at the Perth venue on Friday – a brief gap in geography or duration but ages away in importance and environment – but if it accomplished only boosting Pope's assurance, that alone has made the effort valuable.

England's number three batsman – this fact is undoubtedly absolutely certain – followed his initial innings ton by notching a further 90 in the second innings, and the truly notable was not so much the number of runs but the manner in which they were scored. Periodically the young batsman seemed dominant, smashing a twelve boundaries and a pair of sixes, timing the ball beautifully but with fierce intent.

This was just a practice match against a England Lions squad that deployed exactly 11 pitchers throughout a game held in amid a small group of onlookers in a public park, but it was nonetheless hugely praiseworthy. To note, the England team, needing of 202 once the Lions ended their second innings on 251 for six, won by five wickets after Jamie Smith sped the team past the conclusion with a stream of boundaries.

Crawley and Duckett, the two other significant first-innings performers, both fell short in the second knock, while Root scored further runs – 31 on this occasion – but was far from more convincing, then being confused and accordingly bowled by Jacks. Harry Brook suffered an identical outcome a little later.

Shoaib Bashir – who ended the match having bowled 12 overs for each side – will have found some of the hitting he faced pretty hostile. His initial six overs against the Lions cost 56, with McKinney taking advantage to deliveries that if not exactly loose was certainly not very threatening.

By the conclusion the sixth spell of those overs, England's three other pitchers had conceded almost precisely the same total of runs – 57 – from 15, though the bowler turned a little less leaky later on, allowing 27 from his final six. He claimed a single wicket, holding a sharp, diving grab, diving to his right side, to end Jacob Bethell's innings for 70, from 80 deliveries.

Jacob Bethell, redeeming managing merely three runs in the opening knock, was among three players players with fifties in the Lions team's top order. McKinney's performances from opening batsman were more reliable than those of their number three: he scored 66 in their first batting effort and scored 68 in their follow-up, facing 61 deliveries over his fifty, with five boundaries and two six-hit shots, the pair off Bashir's's deliveries. Jacob Bethell made 68 before a mis-hit to Ben Stokes at cover position, who held a low grab at shin level.

Jordan Cox showed like steadiness, and followed his initial innings' 53 with a further 57, at slightly more than a scoring rate of one. He played some exceptionally elegant strokes on the way, including a straight hit and a hook from consecutive Carse balls to attain his 50 runs.

Following his absence from the initial day of this match with a stomach issue and provided only the least significant of inputs to the second day, Brydon Carse delivered superbly when finally afforded the shot, with McKinney and Jordan Cox included in his three scalps.

This report may be updated