Ollie Pope Cements Status to England's No 3 Slot with Impressive 90 Versus Lions

It is hard to know how significant of England's warm-up fixture will prove important when their Ashes contest begins 10km away at Perth Stadium on Friday – no distance in geography or duration but worlds away in significance and atmosphere – but if it managed only boosting Pope's confidence, that alone has made the effort worthwhile.

The English side's number three batsman – that much is certainly absolutely certain – followed his initial innings century by adding another 90 in the second, and what was notable was not merely the total of scored runs but the style in which they were accumulated. At times the young batsman seemed dominant, smashing a twelve boundaries and a couple of sixes, timing the ball beautifully but with devilish intent.

It was only a exhibition game versus a Lions team that deployed a total of 11 bowlers throughout a contest held in front of a few dozen of spectators in a open field, but it was still extremely impressive. For the record, England, needing of 202 once the Lions declared their follow-on innings on 251 for six, succeeded by five wickets when Jamie Smith raced the team over the finish line with a series of boundaries.

Crawley and Ben Duckett, the other two big first-innings' performers, both failed in the follow-up, while Root scored further runs – 31 on this instance – but was not enormously more dominant, before being confused and accordingly dismissed by Will Jacks. Harry Brook experienced an same fate soon afterwards.

Shoaib Bashir – who concluded the fixture having delivered 12 bowling spells for each side – will have encountered some of the hitting he bowled to pretty challenging. His opening six deliveries against the Lions went for 56, with Ben McKinney feasting to pitching that if not completely loose was definitely far from dangerous.

By the conclusion the sixth of those overs, England's remaining three pitchers had given away roughly the same amount of points – 57 – from 15, though the bowler became a little less leaky as time passed, conceding 27 from his remaining six. He took one wicket, holding a sharp, low snare, leaning to his right side, to conclude Bethell's knock for 70, off 80 deliveries.

Bethell, redeeming managing just three in the opening knock, was a member of a trio of players with fifties in the Lions team's top order. McKinney's scores from opening batsman were more reliable than the scores of their No 3: he made 66 in their first batting effort and improved by two in their second innings, using 61 balls to reach his half-century, with five and two maximums, each from Bashir's's pitching. Bethell got to 68 before a mis-hit to Stokes at cover position, who made a low catch at ankle height.

Cox showed like reliability, and backed up his first-innings 53 with another 57, at slightly more than a run per delivery. He produced several outstandingly elegant shots en route, such as a straight drive and a pull shot against successive Carse deliveries to reach his fifty.

Having missed the opening day of this fixture with a stomach upset and provided only the smallest of efforts to the follow-up, Carse pitched superbly when eventually given the shot, with Ben McKinney and Cox part of his three wickets.

The coverage could change