Pope Strengthens Status to England Cricket's Number Three Spot with Bold 90 Versus Lions

It is hard to determine how significant of the English team's practice match will prove important when their Ashes campaign starts a short distance away at Perth Stadium on Friday – no distance in geography or duration but worlds away in importance and environment – but if it achieved nothing more than strengthening Pope's self-belief, that on its own has rendered the effort worthwhile.

The English side's No 3 – that much is surely completely certain – followed his initial innings century by adding another 90 in the second, and the truly impressive was not merely the quantity of scored runs but the manner in which they were scored. Periodically the 27-year-old appeared commanding, hitting a twelve boundaries and a couple of sixes, connecting with the ball beautifully but with aggressive purpose.

It was merely a friendly against a Lions squad that used a total of 11 pitchers throughout a contest held in amid a handful of onlookers in a open field, but it was nonetheless hugely impressive. Officially, England, needing of 202 after the Lions closed their second innings on 251 for six, succeeded by a margin of five wickets when Jamie Smith raced the team past the conclusion with a series of boundaries.

Zak Crawley and Duckett, the other two big first-innings successes, both were dismissed in the second innings, while Joe Root made further runs – 31 on this occasion – but was not significantly more convincing, then being puzzled and accordingly bowled by Will Jacks. Harry Brook met an similar outcome soon afterwards.

Bashir – who concluded the match having bowled 12 bowling spells for both teams – will have encountered part of the hitting he bowled to rather aggressive. His opening six deliveries versus the Lions conceded 56, with Ben McKinney tucking in to deliveries that if not entirely loose was definitely far from threatening.

At the end the sixth spell of those overs, England's three other bowlers had allowed roughly the same amount of points – 57 – from 15, though the bowler grew a somewhat less leaky as time passed, giving up 27 from his final six. He claimed a single wicket, making a sharp, low-down snare, falling to his right, to end Jacob Bethell's innings for 70, off 80 balls.

Jacob Bethell, making up for scoring just a small score in the first innings, was one of a trio of players with fifties in the Lions' top four. McKinney's scores from opening batsman were more reliable than the scores of their number three: he made 66 in their initial knock and scored 68 in their follow-up, facing 61 balls over his 50 runs, with five and a couple sixes, each off Bashir's pitching. Jacob Bethell made 68 then a poor shot to Stokes at cover, who held a stooping catch at low down.

Jordan Cox displayed similar consistency, and backed up his first-innings 53 with an additional 57, at slightly more than a run a ball. He produced some remarkably elegant hits during his innings, such as a straight drive and a pull shot against successive Brydon Carse deliveries to achieve his half century.

After missing the initial day of this match with a illness and contributed only the most minor of efforts to the second, Carse pitched superbly when eventually given the chance, with McKinney and Jordan Cox part of his three scalps.

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