Pope Cements Claim to England's No 3 Spot with Bold 90 Versus Lions

It's difficult to determine how significant of the English team's warm-up fixture will be remotely meaningful when their Ashes series battle begins 10km away at Perth Stadium on Friday – a short span in space or time but worlds away in significance and mood – but if it managed nothing more than strengthening Ollie Pope's assurance, that on its own has made the endeavor worthwhile.

The English side's No 3 – that point is certainly completely established – built on his first-innings ton by adding another 90 in the second innings, and what was remarkable was less about the total of runs but the way in which they were made. On occasion the 27-year-old seemed dominant, striking a dozen fours and a two of maximums, timing the ball beautifully but with aggressive determination.

This was just a exhibition game versus a England Lions side that employed a total of 11 pitchers throughout a game staged in before a handful of onlookers in a local ground, but it was still hugely impressive. Officially, the England team, needing of 202 once the Lions closed their second innings on 251 for six, triumphed by five wickets in hand when Smith hurried the team over the winning target with a stream of fours and sixes.

Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, the other two major first-innings achievers, both fell short in the follow-up, while Root scored additional points – 31 on this time – but was not enormously more dominant, before being puzzled and accordingly out by Will Jacks. Harry Brook experienced an same fate soon afterwards.

Bashir – who finished the game having bowled 12 bowling spells for each side – will have found some of the strokes he faced quite hostile. His initial six overs against the Lions conceded 56, with McKinney feasting to deliveries that if not exactly poor was certainly far from threatening.

At the end the sixth spell of those overs, England's remaining three bowlers had allowed almost precisely the same number of points – 57 – from 15, though the bowler became a little less leaky as time passed, giving up 27 from his remaining six. He claimed one wicket, making a clever, low snare, diving to his right, to end Bethell's batting stint for 70, from 80 balls.

Bethell, compensating for managing only three in the initial innings, was one of three players fifty-scorers in the Lions' top four. McKinney's scores from opener were more consistent than those of their number three: he scored 66 in their first batting effort and scored 68 in their second, facing 61 deliveries to reach his 50 runs, with five fours and two sixes, both against Bashir's bowling. Jacob Bethell got to 68 before a poor shot to Stokes at cover, who took a low catch at low down.

Cox displayed similar consistency, and built on his first-innings 53 with an additional 57, at just over a scoring rate of one. There were some exceptionally beautiful strokes on the way, such as a drive down the ground and a pull shot off back-to-back Brydon Carse deliveries to reach his half century.

Having missed the opening day of this fixture with a illness and provided just the smallest of inputs to the second, Carse bowled excellently when eventually given the shot, with Ben McKinney and Jordan Cox part of his three dismissals.

This report may be updated