Pope Cements Claim to England Cricket's No 3 Slot with Bold 90 Against Lions

It's difficult to gauge how significant of England's warm-up match will be remotely important when their Ashes series battle begins 10km away at Perth Stadium on the coming Friday – no distance in geography or duration but light years away in import and environment – but if it achieved nothing more than boosting Ollie Pope's self-belief, that on its own has made the exercise valuable.

The English side's No 3 – this fact is surely completely certain – followed his first-innings century by adding an additional 90 in the follow-up innings, and the most remarkable was not merely the number of scored runs but the style in which they were made. On occasion the young batsman seemed commanding, striking a dozen boundaries and a pair of sixes, hitting the ball beautifully but with devilish intent.

This was just a practice match against a Lions squad that employed a total of 11 bowlers across a contest held in amid a small group of people in a public park, but it was nonetheless hugely praiseworthy. Officially, the England team, chasing of 202 once the Lions ended their follow-on innings on 251 for six, won by five wickets in hand after Smith hurried the team over the finish line with a series of fours and sixes.

Zak Crawley and Duckett, the two other significant first-innings performers, both were dismissed in the follow-up, while Root scored several more runs – 31 on this instance – but was not enormously more dominant, then being puzzled and duly dismissed by Jacks. Brook experienced an identical outcome soon afterwards.

Shoaib Bashir – who finished the game having delivered 12 overs for both teams – will have found part of the hitting he bowled to rather aggressive. His first six overs versus the Lions cost 56, with Ben McKinney taking advantage to deliveries that if not entirely poor was certainly far from threatening.

After the sixth over of those overs, England's remaining three bowlers had conceded nearly exactly the same number of points – 57 – from 15, though the bowler grew a slightly less giving later on, giving up 27 from his final six. He secured a single wicket, making a clever, diving grab, diving to his right side, to end Bethell's batting stint for 70, off 80 balls.

Jacob Bethell, compensating for achieving only three in the initial innings, was among three half-centurions in the Lions team's top four. Ben McKinney's returns from opener were more consistent than those of their No 3: he notched 66 in their first batting effort and improved by two in their second, facing 61 balls to reach his half-century, with five fours and a couple six-hit shots, each against Bashir's pitching. Jacob Bethell made 68 then a mis-hit to Stokes at cover position, who made a stooping grab at shin level.

Jordan Cox showed similar consistency, and built on his initial innings' 53 with a further 57, at just over a run a ball. There were some remarkably elegant hits on the way, such as a drive down the ground and a pull off consecutive Brydon Carse deliveries to reach his fifty.

After missing the initial day of this match with a stomach issue and contributed merely the least significant of contributions to the second day, Brydon Carse pitched superbly when eventually afforded the chance, with Ben McKinney and Jordan Cox part of his three scalps.

The coverage may be updated