Ollie Pope scored a quickfire 67-ball 90 as the senior England team chased down 202 in their Ashes warm-up match against England Lions in Perth.
Ollie Pope stars in England intra-squad warm-up game
Walking in after Ben Duckett was dismissed for a golden duck, Pope, who scored a century in the first innings, led the charge for England as they chased down 202 with five wickets to spare in 34.4 overs. Zak Crawley (3 off 12) departed cheaply as well before Joe Root (31 off 52) and Pope added 113 runs for the third wicket on either side of the tea break.
The duo, however, lost their wickets in the space of two runs, with Pope falling to Nathan Gilchrist, while Will Jacks accounted for Root’s wicket. The spin-bowling all-rounder got the better of Harry Brook (19 off 17) as well, staking his claim for a spot in the playing XI for the Perth Test.
Captain Ben Stokes, who scored 15, and Jamie Smith, who smashed a quickfire 39 off 22 featuring four sixes, finished the proceedings for the senior team.
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Earlier in the day, the Lions declared their innings at 251-6 after lunch, scoring at well over five runs per over to force a result. After a failure in the first innings, Jacob Bethell top-scored for the Lions, scoring 70 runs off 80 deliveries before handing a catch to Shoaib Bashir off his bowling, while Ben McKinney added 68 off 73.
Brydon Carse, who did not bowl in the first innings, starred in the second, picking up three wickets. Joe Root was among the wickets too, dismissing Jacks, while Josh Tongue got one wicket as well. Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson and Ben Stokes, who all had heavy workloads in the first innings, bowled a combined 14 overs in the second.
This was the only warm-up game the senior England team was scheduled to play in the lead-up to the Ashes. The first Test will be played at the Optus Stadium in Perth, starting November 21.
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