Ollie Pope Strengthens Status to England's Number Three Slot with Strong 90 Against Lions

It's difficult to determine how much of the English team's preparatory match will prove important when their Ashes battle kicks off a short distance away at Perth Stadium on the coming Friday – a short span in geography or duration but worlds away in import and mood – but if it achieved nothing more than enhancing Ollie Pope's self-belief, that alone has made the exercise beneficial.

The English side's No 3 – this fact is surely totally certain – followed his initial innings century by notching another 90 in the follow-up innings, and the truly notable was not merely the number of scored runs but the way in which they were accumulated. At times the 27-year-old appeared imperious, smashing a twelve boundaries and a pair of maximums, connecting with the ball perfectly but with fierce purpose.

It was merely a practice match against a Lions team that employed a total of 11 pitchers across a game played in amid a handful of spectators in a local ground, but it was nonetheless extremely impressive. For the record, the England team, set a target of 202 after the Lions declared their follow-on innings on 251 for six, triumphed by five wickets after Smith raced the team across the winning target with a series of fours and sixes.

Zak Crawley and Duckett, the two other big first-innings' achievers, both failed in the follow-up, while Joe Root made additional points – 31 on this time – but was not significantly more dominant, prior to being bemused and duly dismissed by Will Jacks. Harry Brook met an same fate a little later.

Shoaib Bashir – who concluded the fixture having bowled 12 overs for each side – will have found some of the batting he confronted quite challenging. His initial six deliveries versus the Lions cost 56, with Ben McKinney tucking in to pitching that if not exactly wayward was definitely far from dangerous.

After the sixth spell of that period, England's three other pitchers had allowed almost precisely the equivalent number of points – 57 – from 15, though Bashir became a slightly less giving as time passed, allowing 27 from his remaining six. He claimed one wicket, making a smart, low snare, diving to his right side, to end Jacob Bethell's innings for 70, off 80 deliveries.

Bethell, redeeming scoring just three runs in the initial innings, was among a trio of half-centurions in the Lions' leading batsmen. McKinney's performances from opening batsman were more reliable than those of their number three: he scored 66 in their first batting effort and scored 68 in their second innings, taking 61 deliveries for his half-century, with five boundaries and a couple six-hit shots, each against Bashir's deliveries. Jacob Bethell reached 68 then a mishit to Stokes at cover, who took a low catch at ankle height.

Cox displayed like consistency, and followed his first-innings 53 with another 57, at about a run per delivery. He played some remarkably elegant strokes en route, including a straight drive and a pull shot from successive Carse deliveries to reach his fifty.

After missing the first day of this match with a stomach upset and contributed merely the most minor of efforts to the follow-up, Carse pitched excellently when eventually provided the chance, with McKinney and Jordan Cox among his three scalps.

This report may be updated