Ollie Pope Strengthens Status to England's No 3 Spot with Bold 90 Against Lions

It is tough to determine how much of England's preparatory fixture will end up being meaningful when their Ashes series campaign kicks off not far at Perth Stadium on Friday – a short span in geography or duration but ages away in import and mood – but if it achieved nothing more than strengthening Ollie Pope's self-belief, that by itself has made the effort beneficial.

The English side's number three batsman – this fact is surely absolutely clear – built on his first-innings ton by scoring a further 90 in the second innings, and the truly impressive was not merely the quantity of scored runs but the manner in which they were scored. On occasion the 27-year-old looked dominant, smashing a twelve boundaries and a two of maximums, hitting the ball sweetly but with fierce intent.

This was merely a practice match against a Lions squad that employed fully 11 pitchers throughout a match staged in amid a few dozen of onlookers in a public park, but it was still very noteworthy. For the record, England, needing of 202 after the Lions closed their follow-on innings on 251 for six, won by a margin of five wickets when Smith hurried the team across the winning target with a flurry of boundaries.

Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, the two other big first-innings successes, both were dismissed in the second innings, while Root scored several more points – 31 on this time – but was not significantly more convincing, then being puzzled and accordingly dismissed by Jacks. Brook experienced an same end soon afterwards.

Bashir – who ended the fixture having bowled 12 overs for both teams – will have faced some of the strokes he confronted rather aggressive. His first six overs against the Lions went for 56, with Ben McKinney taking advantage to pitching that if not entirely wayward was certainly far from intimidating.

By the conclusion the sixth spell of those deliveries, the English side's other bowlers had given away nearly exactly the identical total of runs – 57 – from 15, though Bashir turned a somewhat less generous as time passed, giving up 27 from his remaining six. He claimed one wicket, making a clever, low snare, diving to his right side, to finish Jacob Bethell's batting stint for 70, from 80 balls.

Bethell, redeeming achieving just three runs in the first innings, was among three players fifty-scorers in the Lions' top order. McKinney's scores from opening batsman were more reliable than those of their No 3: he made 66 in their first innings and scored 68 in their second innings, facing 61 deliveries to reach his 50 runs, with five and two sixes, each against Bashir's deliveries. Jacob Bethell reached 68 then a mis-hit to Stokes at cover position, who held a stooping grab at ankle height.

Cox displayed like consistency, and followed his first-innings 53 with a further 57, at just over a scoring rate of one. He played a few outstandingly beautiful strokes on the way, including a straight hit and a pull shot against back-to-back Brydon Carse deliveries to attain his half century.

Following his absence from the opening day of this match with a stomach issue and contributed just the smallest of contributions to the follow-up, Brydon Carse bowled superbly when at last provided the opportunity, with McKinney and Jordan Cox part of his three dismissals.

This report will update