Pope Cements Claim to England's Number Three Role with Strong 90 Versus Lions

It's hard to gauge how much of England's practice match will end up being meaningful when their Ashes campaign kicks off a short distance away at the Perth venue on Friday – a short span in geography or duration but ages away in significance and atmosphere – but if it achieved nothing more than strengthening Pope's confidence, that by itself has made the exercise beneficial.

The English side's No 3 – this fact is certainly absolutely clear – followed his first-innings ton by notching another 90 in the second innings, and what was remarkable was not merely the quantity of runs but the way in which they were scored. On occasion the young batsman appeared commanding, smashing a dozen boundaries and a pair of maximums, hitting the ball beautifully but with devilish purpose.

This was just a exhibition game versus a Lions squad that used a total of 11 pitchers throughout a match played in before a small group of spectators in a public park, but it was nevertheless extremely praiseworthy. For the record, the England team, set a target of 202 following the Lions closed their follow-on innings on 251 for six, won by five wickets in hand when Jamie Smith hurried the team past the winning target with a flurry of boundaries.

Zak Crawley and Duckett, the remaining major first-innings successes, both were dismissed in the second knock, while Joe Root added additional points – 31 on this time – but was not significantly more dominant, then being puzzled and duly dismissed by Will Jacks. Harry Brook met an similar fate shortly after.

Shoaib Bashir – who finished the fixture having bowled 12 overs for each side – will have encountered some of the batting he bowled to quite aggressive. His initial six deliveries against the Lions conceded 56, with McKinney taking advantage to bowling that if not entirely wayward was certainly not overly dangerous.

At the end the sixth of those overs, the English side's remaining three pitchers had allowed roughly the same total of runs – 57 – from 15, though the bowler turned a little less giving as time passed, giving up 27 from his final six. He claimed one dismissal, making a smart, diving snare, diving to his right side, to finish Bethell's batting stint for 70, facing 80 deliveries.

Bethell, making up for managing merely three in the initial innings, was among three players half-centurions in the Lions' top four. McKinney's scores from opener were steadier than those from their No 3: he made 66 in their first batting effort and improved by two in their follow-up, facing 61 deliveries for his fifty, with five and two maximums, each off Bashir's bowling. Bethell reached 68 then a mishit to Stokes at cover, who took a bending grab at shin level.

Cox displayed comparable reliability, and backed up his first-innings 53 with a further 57, at slightly more than a run per delivery. He played some remarkably handsome strokes en route, featuring a straight drive and a pull against back-to-back Brydon Carse balls to reach his half century.

After missing the opening day of this fixture with a illness and made merely the least significant of contributions to the second day, Carse delivered brilliantly when eventually given the opportunity, with Ben McKinney and Jordan Cox included in his three wickets.

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