Pope Reinforces Claim to England's No 3 Role with Bold 90 Versus Lions

It's hard to determine how much of England's preparatory game will be remotely important when their Ashes campaign kicks off 10km away at the Perth venue on the coming Friday – no distance in geography or duration but ages away in significance and atmosphere – but if it achieved solely enhancing Pope's self-belief, that by itself has rendered the exercise valuable.

The English side's number three batsman – this fact is surely totally established – built on his initial innings ton by notching another 90 in the follow-up innings, and the truly remarkable was not merely the quantity of runs but the style in which they were made. Periodically the 27-year-old looked imperious, hitting a dozen boundaries and a couple of maximums, connecting with the ball beautifully but with fierce determination.

This was just a exhibition game versus a England Lions team that used exactly 11 pitchers during a match staged in before a handful of people in a local ground, but it was nevertheless extremely praiseworthy. For the record, England, chasing of 202 once the Lions ended their second innings on 251 for six, won by five wickets in hand once Jamie Smith hurried the team over the winning target with a flurry of boundaries.

Crawley and Duckett, the remaining major first-innings' achievers, both fell short in the follow-up, while Root added several more runs – 31 on this time – but was not significantly more dominant, then being puzzled and accordingly bowled by Jacks. Harry Brook suffered an similar end shortly after.

Bashir – who ended the game having bowled 12 bowling spells for either team – will have faced a portion of the hitting he faced pretty hostile. His first six deliveries versus the Lions conceded 56, with Ben McKinney tucking in to bowling that if not completely wayward was certainly far from dangerous.

At the end the sixth over of that period, the English side's three other pitchers had allowed almost precisely the equivalent amount of runs – 57 – from 15, though Bashir became a slightly less leaky later on, giving up 27 from his final six. He secured one wicket, taking a clever, diving catch, falling to his right, to end Jacob Bethell's batting stint for 70, from 80 balls.

Bethell, making up for scoring only three in the opening knock, was a member of a trio of players with fifties in the Lions team's leading batsmen. Ben McKinney's scores from opener were more consistent than those of their number three: he scored 66 in their first innings and went two better in their second innings, facing 61 balls to reach his half-century, with five fours and two sixes, each against Bashir's's deliveries. Jacob Bethell reached 68 before a mis-hit to Stokes at cover, who took a bending grab at ankle height.

Cox displayed like reliability, and backed up his first-innings 53 with an additional 57, at slightly more than a run a ball. He played a few exceptionally elegant shots en route, featuring a straight hit and a hook against consecutive Brydon Carse deliveries to achieve his half century.

After missing the first day of this match with a stomach issue and contributed only the least significant of contributions to the second day, Brydon Carse pitched brilliantly when at last afforded the chance, with McKinney and Cox part of his three scalps.

This report will update