Swann and Strauss lead strong England

England XI 8 for 288 dec & 0 for 94 (Strauss 56*) lead South Australia 221 (Blizzard 49, Swann 4-68) by 161 runs
Scorecard

England had plenty of reasons to smile after a strong second day against South Australia when most of their main men contributed. Graeme Swann's second four-wicket collection of the trip helped finish off the hosts for 221 after James Anderson had removed three of the top six, while Stuart Broad and Steven Finn also had some success.

Andrew Strauss finished the day with a rollicking 56 as England reached 0 for 94, a lead of 67, and the side was also boosted by Alastair Cook being not out on 37. Cook, the vice-captain, has struggled in the early stages of the trip and is desperately chasing a big score to feel settled before the opening Test on November 25. Strauss has no such worries and bashed three sixes and five fours, with his fifty coming at almost a run a ball.

Swann was wicket-less for his first 17 overs but then captured four victims, giving up 68 runs from 22.4 overs. Aiden Blizzard (49) went sweeping, Tim Lang hit to mid-on, Ben Edmondson was lbw and Peter George, the No.11, was stumped to end the innings.

Rain delayed the start of play by an hour and South Australia were in difficulty soon after resuming at 0 for 26. James Smith nicked Broad to Matt Prior the ball before Anderson had Daniel Harris caught by Jonathan Trott at square leg. Trott later left for treatment on his shoulder after jarring it attempting a catch on the boundary, but returned to the field in good health.

Finn continues to improve and delivered a strong spell before lunch in which he forced Callum Ferguson to miscue a pull shot on 35, and he returned later in the day to bowl Jake Haberfield. Anderson watched Michael Klinger cut hard to Kevin Pietersen at point and followed up by clipping Graham Manou's glove on the way to Strauss at first slip.