Pope Strengthens Status to England Cricket's No 3 Spot with Strong 90 Against Lions

It is difficult to know how much of England's warm-up game will prove meaningful when their Ashes series campaign kicks off not far at the Perth venue on the coming Friday – no distance in space or time but ages away in significance and atmosphere – but if it achieved solely enhancing Ollie Pope's confidence, that by itself has made the effort valuable.

The English side's number three batsman – that point is certainly completely established – built on his first-innings ton by notching an additional 90 in the follow-up innings, and the truly impressive was not merely the number of scored runs but the manner in which they were made. Periodically the player looked imperious, hitting a dozen fours and a pair of maximums, hitting the ball beautifully but with fierce determination.

This was just a exhibition game against a Lions team that used a total of 11 bowlers across a match staged in before a small group of spectators in a public park, but it was still very impressive. To note, the England team, needing of 202 once the Lions declared their follow-on innings on 251 for six, won by a margin of five wickets after Smith sped the team past the winning target with a flurry of boundaries.

Crawley and Ben Duckett, the other two significant first-innings achievers, both failed in the follow-up, while Joe Root scored additional points – 31 on this occasion – but was far from more convincing, before being bemused and accordingly dismissed by Will Jacks. Harry Brook suffered an same fate shortly after.

Bashir – who finished the game having bowled 12 bowling spells for each side – will have encountered some of the hitting he bowled to quite hostile. His opening six overs against the Lions conceded 56, with McKinney taking advantage to bowling that if not entirely loose was surely not overly dangerous.

After the sixth over of that period, the English side's three other bowlers had conceded roughly the same number of points – 57 – from 15, though Bashir turned a slightly less giving in time, conceding 27 from his final six. He took a single wicket, taking a sharp, low grab, falling to his right side, to finish Bethell's batting stint for 70, off 80 deliveries.

Bethell, making up for scoring just three in the opening knock, was one of a trio of half-centurions in the Lions' top order. McKinney's scores from opener were steadier than those of their No 3: he notched 66 in their first batting effort and improved by two in their second, using 61 balls to reach his fifty, with five boundaries and two six-hit shots, both off Bashir's's pitching. Jacob Bethell got to 68 before a poor shot to Ben Stokes at cover, who took a low catch at shin level.

Jordan Cox showed similar steadiness, and followed his initial innings' 53 with another 57, at slightly more than a scoring rate of one. There were some outstandingly beautiful shots en route, including a straight hit and a hook from consecutive Brydon Carse deliveries to achieve his fifty.

After missing the first day of this match with a illness and provided only the most minor of efforts to the follow-up, Brydon Carse pitched brilliantly when finally afforded the chance, with Ben McKinney and Cox among his three dismissals.

This report will update